Movements in the Dark
by Fantasy Cat
Summary: A series of one-shots featuring alternate retellings of my "Growing Up in the Dark" series. Could be filler, spinoff, or whatifs. Call it an AUs-with-an-AU. Rating varies per chapter. Chapter 14 - "Six Christmases".
1. Christmas in the Dark

_**Okay so here's the idea. This story is devoted to various ficlets that are spinoffs to my story "Growing Up in the Dark". Most of the ficlets will be AU interpretations of the earlier chapters (Peter and Olivia as kids) but there might other stuff in the mix as well. I had about 10000000 ways of writing "Growing Up in the Dark" to begin with (and some parts I had wish I thought of before writing) and this is my way of using as many of them as freaking possible! LOL**_

_**And I will update "Back in the Dark Again" sometime soon but I'm too obsessed with writing other crazyness. Damn I cant believe that this whole thing was originally intended to be a one-shot…now I got a sequel AND a AU-within-an-AU spinoff! Crazyness!**_

_**Since it's December, we'll start with this Christmas story I originally wrote for my fans at Fringe-Forum :)**_

**DISCLAIMER: This is just a crazy universe of AU fics within a AU fic for a show that I like. The characters arent mine but dont worry...I aint getting paid! LOL**

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**Title:** "Christmas in the Dark"

**Rating:** G

**Summary:** Not as AU as the others are gonna be. Olivia is 7, Peter is 9. It's their first Christmas living on their own after all the insanity of chapters 1-8 of "Growing Up".

**Characters:** Peter, Olivia, special surprise guests :D

**Warnings:** None

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It was the worst way to wake up that morning. Peter had bitten his tongue. It took him a while to realize that his teeth were chattering, and somehow his tongue must've gotten caught in the midst of it. He curled up his legs but nothing helped. It had gotten cold…so cold that not even staying under the blankets all day was going to help.

"Peter?"

Olivia had been lying next to him struggling in the same situation he was in. "I can't stop shaking."

He crawled out of bed past Olivia. "We could put on more clothes."

He opened the dressers only to be greeted by a strange smell…something like rotten wood. The clothes had been stuck in the wooden drawers unused for quite some time. Peter pulled out one flannel shirt that was at least twice his size when he put it on.

For Olivia, he found an old sequenced long sleeve that looked like something his grandma would've worn. The shirt went down past her knees and wouldn't stay up on her shoulders.

By now they were both wearing about two or three layers of clothing but they couldn't find jackets or coats of any kind. At the very least they found pairs of gardens gloves to keep their hands warm, but it wouldn't do much.

It wasn't until they went downstairs that Peter noticed the white that had covered the windows.

Olivia noticed that the hole at the bottom of the door was completely blocked by the strange substance that was seeping in.

She started to panic. "What is this? It's trapping us in!"

"No it's not," said Peter. "It's just snow."

"How do we make it go away?"

Peter sighed. "Just dig it out of the way." It felt silly to Peter that Olivia had never seen snow, much less heard of it. But then he had forgotten that Olivia had spent her life in a dark windowless cell with no knowledge of the outside world. He had become her eyes and ears from the very moment that had escaped. Perhaps that was why she was constantly scared and was always clinging to him.

Now Olivia was kneeling there by the door afraid to touch the white stuff, even with the garden gloves on. She closed her eyes and with one swoop scooped the snow out of the way as much as she could, only to have more snow seep in and fall right onto her hands. She gasped…and Peter laughed.

She turned to face Peter with a look of pure contempt and red cheeks to match. Peter stopped laughing and said "sorry". He went over and dug more snow out of the way. "See, it's not dangerous. You just dig enough out and then we can crawl through." When Peter believed he had cleared enough out, he went through the hole. "Look, I'm outside!"

Olivia could see nothing but white through the hole. "Is it all snow out there?"

"Yeah," Peter called out. "Are you coming or you gonna stay in there all day?"

In her mind, Olivia was screaming. Why did it have to come down to this? Why did she have to choose between two things she was scared of: the snow and being alone? She sat there whimpering and pondering for a moment. If Peter was outside and okay, then maybe the snow couldn't be all bad.

She took a deep breath and pushed and squirmed her way through. Luckily Peter saw her trying to come out and pulled her out the rest of the way. Bad enough her feet were now inches deep in the cold crunchy stuff, but now it was in her hair and getting under her clothing.

The water pump was frozen shut and there was nothing naturally edible to be found in this kind of weather. Peter could only hope that if they went down the road to the nearby town, they would find food in the trashcans or something that they could heat in their unused fireplace.

It was struggle to walk in 4.5 inches of snow and Olivia was grabbing the back of Peter's clothes just to keep herself from falling. Not only had it gotten cold but it was also quite dark for the daytime. There was no color in the sky and the streets of the nearby town seemed lifeless. Only a few streetlights and small strange ones that were strung up in many of the windows were all that stood out.

"What are those plants?" asked Olivia.

Peter was confused, especially given that all the trees were practically dead. "What plants?"

"Those. They're hanging all over the walls and the doors and they got big colored berries on them."

As they got closer, Peter realized that the green stuff was just fake garland. And the colored berries were ornaments.

Peter sighed. "They're just decorations. They're not real."

"Oh". Olivia looked disappointed, especially since they were both starving. First, they began searching through a dumpster behind a general store until an employee came and drove them away threatening to bring out his hunting rifle if they didn't scram.

They tried restaurants, but some were closed and others were dumping out food that was far from pleasant. Anything that looked remotely edible had gone bad from the cold.

At one street corner a man in a Santa Claus suit was annoyingly ringing his bell. When the children walked by, they heard the man say "Merry Christmas". Peter ignored him but Olivia would occasionally peek back curiously.

"What is that weird man doing?" Olivia asked him.

"Just ignore him," said Peter. "He wants money, which we don't have."

The chaos of the holidays was interfering with him and Olivia being able to find anything they needed to survive. Instead of finding food in most of the dumpsters, they would find discarded wrapping paper and various junk related to the holiday.

Peter had almost cut himself picking up a large discarded coffee can. It was tossed to the floor but something in the noise it made triggered something in Peter's mind.

A light bulb had turned on in Peter Bishop's genius head!

"Livvy, I have an idea!"

He picked up the coffee can and pulled Olivia to a nearby street corner. "Take this." Peter shoved the can in Olivia's hands and then he put his hands in Olivia's hair and kept messing with it.

She panicked and tried to fight him away. "What are you doing?!"

"I'm making you messy. They'll pity you more this way."

"What?"

Peter looked around then said to Olivia. "Okay, now you just leave the can out so that people will put money in it. Don't talk, but if someone asks what you're doing, say you want to buy something for your mom for Christmas."

"But what's…"

Peter saw people coming. "Just stay there. I'll be watching over here." And he disappeared into the nearby alley.

Olivia could only stand there nervously while a modest middle-class couple was walking by. They stopped by Olivia with a look of shock and pity. The woman pulled out some change from her purse and tossed it into the bucket.

Peter smiled. It was working. He could make suckers out of this whole community for feeling sorry for a cute little blonde girl. And then will they would have enough food to get the two of them through the next Christmas. He liked the idea of conning people. It was preferable to boring old work and school.

A couple hours past and Olivia stood there shivering. It had gotten deathly silent and Peter realized that everyone was practically gone for the day.

He rushed over to Olivia. "We gotta hurry," said Peter. "They'll close the general store any minute. How much money did we make?"

Olivia looked down and counted the contents in the coffee can. "8 copper things, four of these little thick things and one big silver thing."

Peter looked into the can. "No!" he protested to nobody.

53 cents…all his genius work and all the people gave Olivia was 53 freakin' cents?! That wouldn't even cover the cost of a candy bar!

It was Christmas Eve and once again, they weren't going to eat. He had given up.

The sky was getting black and the air was getting colder. They were overdue to go back as it was. As they walked the empty streets, Peter could see shadows of people in houses and apartment complexes bustling as though they were having a party…

…or a good Christmas meal. It was getting to Peter so much…not that he hated Christmas but of course, everything had changed.

The last Christmas that Peter had spent with his mother was a fake. He realized that now. He had gotten everything that he had wanted for Christmas that year and that was probably because his mother knew that it would be his last at home. It was a good thing he never believed in Santa Claus.

And Olivia…well she probably never heard of Christmas or Santa Claus, which would explain how confused she was by everything being so different. This was good in Peter's mind. No stupid expectations or false hopes. They could both just treat this as another day of failure and try again the day after tomorrow when all things Christmas would be gone.

They were passing by the last Christmas tree, standing there in its fine décor at the edge of town. The lights were glowing dimly, which would do little to help them find the path back through the woods and get back to the cottage. Olivia pointed the tree to Peter. "I think I've seen a lighting tree like that before."

"They're everywhere in town, Livvy."

"No. I think I saw one a long time ago…before I…"

Olivia stopped herself from her devastating confession and was trying hard to think back to the other memory instead. It may have been a glimpse of a lighting tree she had seen before but she swore that she had been with her father at the time. She wasn't really sure if that was this "Christmas" thing that Peter was talking about.

Suddenly Peter saw Olivia break out in quaking sobs that he could not understand. It was as though as something went off in her head, as if she had been sleepwalking and has suddenly woken up from a nightmare…a really bad one.

"Livvy?"

Her breathing was getting shorter and her cheeks became pink and icy. Tears were drying up quickly in the cold. Peter knew that something was terribly wrong for Olivia to be like this but he knew he wouldn't get any answers from her.

"We have to get back," said Peter.

He took her hand and the two of them went into the woods toward the direction of the cottage. It had gotten so dark that Peter was scared they would get lost. He couldn't see anything. They must've gotten one of those coincidental holiday miracles for Peter and Olivia to finally find their way back to their "home" after a painful hour wandering.

Peter had picked up some twigs and tiny branches along the way. The two of them had been outside for so long and needed to warm up quickly before they would get sick. Olivia looked like she was already getting there.

It was lucky that Peter had found a matchbook in the house…with only five matches left. Putting the scrap wood in the old fireplace, he tossed the first lit match in. It went out before it even touched anything. The next two would do the same. The fourth time, Peter even tried to stick his hand in and risk being burned. Still nothing but a bunch of gray ash on Peter's hand.

The fifth time, he slowly noticed that there was a glow in the wood. Peter got down quickly to try and keep the flame going…

…a minute later, it was gone.

His boy scout experience had completely went to waste. The little sticks were too weak to rub together.

To add to their misery, Peter could see his own puffs of breath. It was getting THAT cold inside.

"It's okay," said Olivia who was shaking and shivering madly. "We can just go to sleep."

Peter complied when he saw how pale she had gotten. They headed upstairs and got themselves under every cover they had, which wasn't much. Olivia instinctively snuggled close to Peter and fell asleep. But Peter was still grouchy and upset.

After finally getting himself to fall asleep, he had decreed (aside from Olivia being here) tha this had become the worst Christmas ever.

…

Sometime in the middle of the night, Peter had woken up from another nightmare but all he could do was look up at the ceiling at nothing.

Then he heard an unusual noise. Something like a thump.

He turned to the window, there was a full moon and it brought light into the loft.

Another thump made Peter froze…and another.

It kept getting closer and that's when Peter realized that someone…maybe something was coming up the stairs! He cursed himself. There was no way for him and Olivia to escape but the stairs. The stranger's arrival would have the children cornered.

He didn't wake Olivia. She would completely freak out. Instead he could only shield the both of them completely under the blankets. If he didn't breath or make any sound, maybe the stranger would think no one lived here and would go away. It was practically inhabitable here as it was.

After many intense seconds, the thumping stopped. Peter poked his head out of the covers very, very, carefully. The moonlight revealed the stranger's shadow against the wall and that was enough to send Peter back under the covers in a split second.

He hoped the stranger couldn't see him. After all, Peter had only seen the shadow. It was a man, a large man and he looked pretty bald.

'_It couldn't be,'_ Peter thought. There was just no way.

If it really were Santa Claus then he wouldn't have left them living like this. If it really were Santa Claus, Olivia would not have to have live the life she had lived for four Christmases prior.

Logically, in Peter's mind, it was not making sense. Yet there was a big bald stranger in their "home" on Christmas Eve.

Perhaps, Peter needed to take a second look. But before he could, the thumping noise happened again. Peter stayed under the covers. This time, the thumping was not getting louder. It was fading away. _'Good,'_ Peter thought. The stranger was leaving…

He would wait for him to leave…wait until it was safe for him to peak out again.

…

The room had gotten brighter.

Peter must've fallen asleep waiting for the stranger to leave. It was now morning…Christmas morning.

But to Peter, it would just be another morning.

Just then Olivia was stirring but she was moaning at the same time. Peter pulled the blankets out and looked at her in shock. She was getting very pale, white as a ghost, and she was shaking uncontrollably.

"I don't feel so good, Peter."

Peter put his hand to Olivia's forehead. God, she was burning up. Of course, she would be sick given that they were starving and enduring cold freezing temperatures.

He doesn't want to believe that making her stand out on that street corner was what caused it. He had been exposed to the outside as well. But now, Peter was really scared.

"There's gotta be medicine downstairs."

Peter leapt off the bed. He was going to check every drawer and cabinet in this place, tear the whole house apart, to find anything for Olivia. He knew that going to town on Christmas day would be hopeless.

He hurried down the stairs and was about to tear the entire kitchen apart, but his eyes had taken a quick glance at the living room.

Peter stopped.

He looked at the living room with disbelieving eyes. In the back of the room, was a fire, and actual fire in the fireplace! Someone had placed garland, laced up above with colored ornaments. On the old sofa, there was a strange pile of neatly folded sweaters, pants, and coats. And two pairs of small boots right next to them.

And the clothes, they weren't oversized old people clothes…one of the coats fit Peter comfortably.

On the other side of the room, he saw a stack of toys: dolls, stuff animals, and even those Lincoln Logs that Peter was obsessed with. There was even a chemistry set that Peter had hoped to get for Christmas this year.

The big basket right next to the toys was what intrigued Peter the most. The plastic that cover it gave him false hope, but once he tore it off, he almost wanted to cry.

It was biggest basket of food he ever seen…and it had everything, meat, biscuits, water, and even some canned food.

Peter didn't think. He just grabbed a bunch of cookies from the basket and scarfed them all up. He placed his hand in the basket for more and tried to eat it, only tasting paper. 'Yuk'. He looked at the weird tasting stuff.

It wasn't food. It was a paper wrapped package of medicine.

Peter hurried pack upstairs with the medicine and the bottle water. "Livvy! Livvy, wake up!"

Olivia couldn't even lift her head up. "I can't Peter…"

"I found some medicine."

That really surprised Olivia as to how fast Peter would find some. Not that it mattered, as she was too weak to ask questions. Peter had to help her take the pills. Swallowing them was the tough part but he guided her through it and soon Olivia was taken gulps of water from the bottle.

"Are you okay, now?" asked Peter.

"I dunno. I wanna lie down some more."

Peter gave her a big smile. "It's okay," he said, accepting that Olivia wasn't going to spring out of bed and recover so quickly.

"Why are you smiling so big?" she asked.

The excitement was building up in Peter…the same kind he used to get on Christmas day. "Just wait till you get downstairs."

…

The fire in the fireplace was still burning. Many hours had passed but Peter and Olivia had already gone through a good amount of food in the Christmas basket. They were now wearing new sweaters instead of the oversized rags. Even Olivia was brushing the hair one of the dolls mindlessly, but she was happy and definitely in brighter, healthier spirits than she had been earlier.

"Are they gonna come back for this stuff?" she asked Peter.

"Hope not. They're Christmas gifts, which means we get to keep them."

"But who brought it?"

Peter knew there was no possible way it could be Santa Claus. That was a man of fiction and myth. But there was no explaining how they got all of these gifts. How would Santa know that Olivia would get sick this morning and would need medicine they didn't have?

Then what if was a stranger? He was being too nice to the children. It had to be a trap. Have the two of them tricked into false childhood sense of safety and then capture them at their most vulnerable.

Christmas would be the perfect time to set such a trap. But deep down Peter just wasn't sure. Besides, Olivia was having a happy time, the happiest she probably ever was. This wasn't the best day to share his suspicions with her.

Peter just shrugged his shoulders and said "probably Santa Claus. Who else is it gonna be?"

…

He waited for Olivia to fall asleep before he tiptoed to the window to play lookout, but it was impossible to see anything. After a couple of hours, he found his eyes getting heavy and he was yawning. He felt so snuggly in his new pajamas that eventually, he just gave up and crawled back into bed with Olivia.

The stranger did not repeat his mistake from the night before. He made a much more quiet approach up the stairs. He found the children sound asleep in the bed with big smiles on their faces and their arms around each other.

He quietly stepped downstairs and out of the house where his superior was waiting for him.

"Are the children in good health now?"

"Yes," September reported. "Both are content and well. They believe their benefactor was this Santa Claus who is part of their 'Christmas' tradition."

December felt that half of these traditions and beliefs being celebrated by the humans during this time of year were downright silly. He could only logically determine that this was considered a coping mechanism by the humans to cope with the cold weather and dark skies.

But didn't the people here know that more dark skies were coming? Didn't they know that things were about to get worse and that all life was slowly going to die here?

September then asked, "Will it be enough?"

The Observers had to put their trusts in Dr. Bishop. He had to come and retrieve the children before the great wars would begin. They had triggered the steps that would lead up to the war by escaping from the lab, and now they would need to taken somewhere safe until they were mature enough and ready to play their respective roles in the war.

December said to September, "they should have enough to ensure their survival. Until Dr. Bishop arrives, there is nothing more we can do for them."

They took their leave from the countryside, leaving not a single footstep in the deep snow behind them.

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**COMING UP NEXT:** A ficlet written by Lolita Tides: Astrid's tea party from Chapter 5 of "Growing Up in the Dark" gone horribly wrong....


	2. The Tea Party writer: Lolita Tides

_**Yes, I'm aware for the 100000th time that I should be updating "Back in the Dark Again" over this. Writer's block! Writer's block I tell you. I'm totally obsessed with this spinoff series now! I have about 100 different plot bunnies in my head as I type.**_

_**More details below.**_

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**Title:** "The Tea Party"

**DISCLAIMER:** This chapter written by Lolita Tides (and NOT me! So send your compliments to her). She also came up with the idea for the title cuz I suck at titles. Heh.

**Rated:** PG

**Summary:** Alternate take on Chapter 5 of "Growing Up in the Dark"

**Characters: **Astrid Farnsworth, Olivia, Peter, Mrs. Farnsworth

**Warnings: **Death?

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"Hey. Are you guys awake?"

Astrid's head was only visible from the nose up as she looked into the attic, her eyes adjusting slowly to the dark. Emerging slowly from behind a few stacked boxes came Olivia and Peter, her two friends. She smiled and even though they couldn't see it, she knew they certainly felt it. They gave timid smiles in return, drifting towards her like small moths to a flame.

"C'mon. My mama is taking a nap because she doesn't feel well. Did you guys finish your breakfast?"

Her two friends began to quietly come down the ladder after her, the little blonde girl's skinny limbs looking even thinner in Astrid's clothes, while Charlie's hand-me-downs looks perfectly fine on the green eyed boy.

"Yes. The egg sandwiches were good," Olivia said, sparing Astrid a weak smile.

Astrid felt proud as they joined her on the wooden hallway floor and helped her put the ladder and trapdoor away. "My daddy made extra. I told him I would want them for snacks."

"Who eats an egg sandwich for a snack?" Stink asked in his usual irritated tone.

Astrid chose to ignore him, instead linking her arm with the other young girl's. "Do you want to take a bath, Olivia? I have some pretty smelling soap with sparkles in it. You can use it if you want. It came with one of my Barbie dolls."

"Barbies?" Stink echoed, making a face and Astrid scowled at him.

"I slept in some spider webs," Olivia observed, running her fingers through her hair.

Astrid was more than happy to convince the other girl to take a bath and then Stink, taking the free time alone with the other little girl as an opportunity to dress her up, a living doll that she had in pinks and purples with the jeweled sandals that were still too big for her.

"Such pretty hair," Astrid sang as she brushed Olivia's long blonde locks.

*******

Today was the perfect day for a tea party and Astrid had made sure to wash out her plastic tea service the night before. She loved tea parties, but before she had friends living in the attic, she never had anyone to play with.

At the moment her two friends were secreted away in her playhouse, waiting for her to return with their supplies for their tea party. She was in the back porches garden, inspected the little patch of strawberries, but they were still too green to be plucked. She sighed, somewhat disappointed she wouldn't be able to make the nice desserts for her friends, but soon felt her mood change when she spotted one of the branches from the next door neighbor's tree caught up one her side of the backyard fence. Her neighbor had been pruning the tree's branches—the 'you tree'—and there were the small pink berries she often spotted the birds eating. She quickly knocked the branch down and harvested a handful of the pink berries, gleefully stuffing them in her pockets. They were much prettier than strawberries—they looked like pieces of candy!

She returned to kitchen to get the water for her teapot, humming to herself as she watched the water fill up in the mauve plastic.

"Hi, baby. What are you up to?"

Astrid jerked around to see her mama standing in the doorway, looking quite pale, her lavender bathrobe wrapped tightly around her.

"Um, a tea party," she said, trying to look as though she hadn't been caught in the middle of something; she _really_ didn't want her friends taken away.

But her mama just smiled and moved over to the counter next to her. "Oh. Do you want a little sugar for your tea?"

"Yes, please." She watched her mama spoon two small spoonfuls of sugar inside and she smiled. "Thank you."

Her mama shuffled over to the pantry and pulled out the last of the Oreos, putting them in a plastic bag so she could carry them along with the teapot. "Mama's going to go lay down again. Behave, okay baby?"

"Okay!" Astrid sang as she skipped out of the back door.

"What took you so long?" Stink asked once she entered the playhouse.

"My mama came downstairs." Astrid held out the bag of Oreos and pulled the berries she'd found out of her pockets. "Olivia, would you like to help me make the teacakes?"

"These are Oreos," the boy said snidely.

Astrid ignored him and with a practiced hand, demonstrated to Olivia how to make a teacake. "Like this: you take off the top (you can eat that if you want) and then you put these berries on top! See? A teacake like princesses have!"

"What kind of berries are these?" Olivia asked curiously as she studied the small pink globes.

Astrid shrugged, already having made six little teacakes. "I dunno. They came off the neighbor's tree."

Stink made a face. "Ew, I don't want to eat your smelly tree berries!"

"Shut up, Stink. They smell good," she snapped.

"They do, Peter." Olivia took a tentative bite and then smiled reassuringly at him. "And they taste good, too."

Astrid smiled, presenting the tray with a dozen little Oreo teacakes. "Is anyone hungry?"

Olivia and Stink lunged for the sweets, devouring them two and three at a time.

"It's a tea party! Use your manners!" Astrid cried out, horrified her desserts were being manhandled.

The teacakes all gone, Astrid ate a few of the berries by themselves, grimacing at the bitter seeds. But she remembered her manners as hostess and quickly offered put the rest of them on her empty teacake plate so that her guests might enjoy them as well.

"Do you want tea, Livvy?" she asked.

"I've never had tea," Olivia said nervously.

"It's okay. It's not really tea. It's sugar water," Astrid confessed as she poured some into each of their teacups.

"The seeds don't taste so good when you chew them," Peter observed as he took one of the berries off the plate.

"The sweet covers most of it," Olivia said, eating one of the black cookie tops along with one of the berries. "These are really nice."

"Good!" Astrid chirped, delighted her little party was going quite nicely.

The three shyly socialized—Astrid playing a very successful lawyer, Peter a bookseller, and Olivia as herself, because she couldn't quite grasp the concept of make-believe. It wasn't long before the sugar water ran out and Astrid grabbed the teapot, announcing,

"I'll get more tea!"

Out of the playhouse and humming 'Mary Had a Little Lamb' she carried her mauve teapot, wondering if she ought grab some more snacks for them to enjoy when she stumbled slightly, her plastic teapot falling from her hands. She leaned forward to pick it up and lost her balance, landing on her left knee. She reached out for the teapot and collapsed. Her whole body felt funny, tingly, like how it felt when she had bumped her funny bone last week. And she was cold, just like when she had jumped into the park pool on that one really hot day…

Gene came barreling out the doggy door, barking at her, licking at her hand. Her head lay in the lawn, there... the stalks of grass, the slender leaves a deep and brilliant green that faded into black...

*******

Peter watched as Olivia's fingers lost their grip on the plastic teacup, the water spilling on the plastic table.

"Are you okay?" he asked, one of his little eyebrows lifting up in curiosity.

Olivia fell face first into the plate of berries, sending the little pink globes flying through the air. Peter grabbed her, feeling that her chest wasn't moving—she wasn't breathing! Quickly he pulled her from her chair as he stumbled back against the wall of the little house. She fell backward across his lap as he panted—her eyes were wide open and looked up at the roof blankly, lips parted slightly as her head balanced on his shoulder.

"Are you okay?" he whispered, his voice trembling as his chubby little arms held her tight.

He knew she wasn't.

*******

"Terrible. Terrible," the coroner said as he zipped the third white body bag on the gurney, waving for the EMTs to wheel the little corpse away.

"I've seen the birds eating them before—I never thought to warn her about them!" Mrs Farnsworth sobbed, wrapping her bathrobe tighter around her as the police officer stood next to her, trying to offer some reassurance.

"Birds don't get sick from the yew berry's seed because they swallow it whole. Your daughter obviously chewed them," the officer said gently, pointing to the tree branch on the ground next to the fence.

"And the other two children?" Mrs. Farnsworth sniffled, watching the two other body bags getting loaded into an ambulance near the front yard.

"It looks like they belonged to the children pound from their tags, but we'll still have to contact them first just to make sure."

The teapot lay forgotten in the grass.

* * *

**COMING UP NEXT:** I'm trying to decide between two different directions to do next. (Both will be done in due time.)

Reviewers, pick which one you wanna see see next.

**A.** An alternate take on Peter and Olivia being held in Mr. Jones basement (with tragic results)

or

**B.** An alternate flashforward revolving Peter and Olivia four years later if our Walter never came to retrieve them (dark traumatizing stuff)

Arent I chipper for writing a series of angsty fics of our main couple as children going through hell?

Have fun! ;)


	3. The End of Childhood

**Title:** The End of Childhood

**Rated:** T (for violence and some creepy s**t!!!)

**Summary: **A traumatic encounter begins the slow death of innocence for our young pair.

**Characters: **Olivia (age 11), Peter (age 13)

**Warnings:** creepy

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"Peh…hee…lee…"

"BEEP! Wrong!" cried Peter. He chucked a small acorn at Olivia.

"Ow! That hurts!"

"Well then, read the word right!"

"I'm trying," Olivia had protest. Peter had gotten very irritating to be around lately. It was really hard to focus with him behaving as immature as he was. He was supposed to be a teenager now, yet he behaved around Olivia as if he were five-year-old brat.

Peter teased, "Don't make me get the dunce cap."

"It's just a stupid piece of paper wrapped all funny."

Olivia tossed the book aside tired of trying for the day.

"It's called a cone," said Peter. "And just for that…" He took a paper-wrapped cone and placed it on top of Olivia's head. "DUNCE!"

In a fit of anger, Olivia took the paper hat off and scrunched it. "I don't like playing school with you, Peter!"

"It's not play. You wanted to learn this stuff and I'm only trying to help you with…"

"Your genius! Yes, I know! You're SUCH a genius just because you had four years of school!"

Peter nervously said, "it was three, I got to skip second grade."

"Did they really make you wear those cone hats?"

He gave Olivia a mischievous grin. "Nah, I was just messing with you."

Olivia picked up the acorn and chucked it back at Peter who could only laugh as he dodged the acorn and darted for the door.

"Where you are going?!" she asked looking very steamed.

"I'm going to the creek to take a bath. Aren't you coming?"

Peter was already out the door. Olivia HATED when he did this. He would constantly run off without telling Olivia and making her think he was leaving her behind. Sure enough, when she ran out of the house, Peter was outside waiting for her. She was really angry but she tried to hold it in. She didn't want him to think she was such a baby for not wanting to be left alone all the time…

It still upsets her though…

Half a mile from the house, there was a creek hidden in a deep valley that they had found shortly after coming to live here. That was about four years ago. Since then, they were able to use the creek to better wash themselves but also catch fish on occasion. It was far better than digging through garbage cans at any rate.

They arrived at the deeper side of the water that the kids often would go swimming in, and Peter began to strip off his clothes.

"This isn't where we take our baths."

"I know. I lied," said Peter. "I really wanted to go swimming. Come on. I'll give you another swimming lesson."

"Oh no you don't!" said Olivia. "Last time you taught me, you were trying to drown me!"

"No, I wasn't."

"Yes, you were! You kept shoving my head under the water!"

Peter dumped all of his clothes on a nearby rock. "Hey, you gotta learn to breathe underwater sometime." He then ran past Olivia and did a cannonball into the water. The splashback got Olivia really good. "Ha, you're wet now!" Peter laughed.

"You splashed me!"

"Does that mean you're gonna come in?"

"No!" Olivia pouted. "I'm going home."

"You don't know how to get back from here."

"Just you wait! I'll be back at the house in five minutes."

He watched Olivia turn away from him and storm up the hill. "Okay," said Peter laughed. He knew that Olivia said that as an expression. She still didn't know how to tell time. "But you're missing out." He went back to swimming in the creek by himself.

It was quiet and relaxing…as it should be. Why did Olivia have to make things so hard and boring every time they tried to swim together? After a few minutes, he looked up to see if Olivia was still around. He honestly doubted that Olivia would try and head back to the house one her own. This was a girl who gets baffled by trees.

The thought was making Peter laugh for the hundredth time.

No sign of her. She must be sitting on the other side of the hill where Peter can't see, incredibly pissed off and void of having any fun.

He turn his head to the east, to see if maybe Olivia was trying to spy on him from somewhere but saw a huge swarm of birds zooming through the sky.

Far off into the distance, Peter could see an unusual dark spot in the sky. It looked like smoke, only it was really dark brown. It was a strange looking cloud that was slowly snaking its way through the sky from an unknown source miles away. But with every second that passed, the brown cloud seemed to move slightly closer toward his direction.

Quickly, Peter swam back to the shore and grabbed his clothes.

…

Olivia could see the brown cloud too. Her immediate instinct told her to turn around and go to the creek.

She ran a little ways before she stopped and began to doubt that she was going in the right direction.

There was rustling in the bushes just a few feet away.

"Peter?"

…

Peter was fully clothed and dry as he could get himself as he started heading up the hill.

Halfway to the top, he heard the scream…her scream.

…

Fear had taken over everything.

She had been tackled and shoved into a low thicket, and now she was feeling the sharp edge of a blade against her neck. Her arms were pinned down to the side by the force she could barely see. But she could tell it was a man, a man looked very sick and it looked like his clothes were covered in a form of brown soot. He smelled bad too.

"You ain't alone, are you girl? You got family near here?"

The hair in her face was getting drenched in tears.

"You got a place don't you? Food, supplies? Come on, answer me!!!"

Olivia couldn't respond, she continued to sob uncontrollably.

"So that's how it's gonna be." Olivia wanted to squirm but the man was clearly too heavy. He was crushing her arms into the earth. Evidently the man brought his weight down even lower just to whisper in her ear. "I'm gonna make this hurt until you talk." She could already feel pain from the man's weight on her and the blade of the knife balancing on the very surface of her skin.

…

"Liv?!"

Peter was practically in the area where the source of the scream came from, but nothing could be made out. He looked up at the sky again and saw the brown cloud getting bigger and closer…

There wasn't much time left.

"Livvy?!"

He traveled a little ways more until his ears caught some strange noises. There was crying.

There was a huge rustle and Peter whirled around. From out of nowhere came this freaky stranger pulling Olivia with him from out of a thicket.

"HEY!"

Peter took a step toward them, but stopped when the man pulled out the knife. Olivia felt numb as the man pulled her up and locked her in one arm, brandishing the knife to her neck. "You come any closer boy, and I cut her open."

Peter looked at Olivia. Her eyes were full of fear and helplessness. And now he was just as helpless, scared, and filled with guilt.

As the children made eye contact with one another, Peter realized there was a spark of hope. He couldn't get her out, but Olivia already knew the way. He prayed that she could read him.

'_Do it, Livvy. Come on…do the thing.'_

He wondered if she even got the message. He became really worried when seconds would go by and nothing happened. Wasn't in intense scary situations like this when she would cause "it" to happen?

The man looked to Peter. "You two alone out here?"

For the first time in his young life, Peter was stuck in a situation he didn't know how to resolve. If he lied and said 'no', would he believe him? If he said 'yes', what was to stop him from killing them both?

'_Damn it,'_ thought Peter. Why wasn't Olivia doing "it" yet?

"Tell the truth, boy," said the man. "Or you get it good as her."

Peter took a big gulp and said "yes…" He was shaking. "We're alone. Now please…let her go…"

"I'll let her go…" said the man. "I'll let her go with me before the other side starts attacking again."

Before Peter could even ponder what 'the other side' meant, the man had fled with Olivia. Peter was quickly in pursuit. But given that this was a much bigger and faster man than he was, Peter was having trouble keeping up. The trees hindered his progress and soon enough, Peter had tripped.

The man hurried with Olivia to the road where his rusty red truck was. He threw her to the floor of the front passenger seat and started the car. The terror was enough for her to keep put.

He stepped on the gas when he was the brown cloud was getting bigger.

The quicker he sped away, the farther away he would be from the battlefront. Under his breath, he muttered, "try and get me now, bastards".

He blinked only once and suddenly, the universe had ripped opened in the middle of the road. A herd of deer like creatures had charged straight into the direction of the truck.

There was no chance to swerve out of the way.

One of the massive creatures, big as a horse, collided head-on with the truck's front. The massive animal crashed through the windshield.

The other creatures had either been hit or continued to flee.

When Peter got there, the only thing he could see was the man leaned over and the large horn of on the dead creature had gone straight through the man's head.

Olivia had to still be in the truck, but before he could take another step, something else came through the hole in the universe.

There were four of them at least. They looked like vicious wolves but walked on all fours with very tall legs. From where Peter hid, he could see that the creatures had hooves.

Two of them jumped on top of the truck while the other two went after one of the dead creatures that got caught underneath the tires but with no luck. They joined the other two. One of them took its jaw to the dead deer creature and yanked the horn out from the dead man's head. Another took the man by his head and dragged him off. The others dropped what they were doing and the entire pack disappeared together into the woods.

Peter didn't wait. He was tired of waiting.

"Liv?! Livvy?!"

All he found in the front seat was the dead deer creature and a massive amount of broken glass.

"Peter?"

Peter looked. "Livvy, where are you?!"

Just barely, he could hear a pathetic whimper from underneath the dead creature: "I'm stuck."

The damn thing was heavy but Peter wasn't going to quit. "Just hang on, I'll get you out." Finally, he thought to pull the legs out and pushed them out of the way. He could see her blond head now, having been shielded with her now bloody arms from all the glass.

"Come on, Livvy." Peter's hand reached through and grabbed Olivia's arm. It was a struggle for her to move and squeeze through all the damage but Peter was there to help.

She finally came out…sore, bleeding, a complete wreck.

But there was no time. The brown cloud was moving across the sky. Luckily, Peter knew how to get back from here. He let Olivia piggyback on him and the two headed straight back for the house.

…

Hours had passed and the kids stayed in the house while the brown cloud hovered over them. When the skies got really dark, they expected something terrible to happen…

But nothing did. The brown cloud eventually disappeared and the skies were blue again.

Olivia was struggling to comb the broken glass out of her hair and keep the Band-Aids on all over her arms and face. She sat in the living room corner doing this…unable to look at Peter.

"Why didn't you do it?" Peter asked. He sounded very frustrated. "You could've used your ability!"

Olivia said nothing.

"Livvy, he was gonna take you away!!!"

Still, she didn't turn and respond but she was starting to shake until she broke down and cried.

Peter turned away from her and angrily kicked a wastebasket on his way. He wants to place the anger on her for not trying to get out of the situation. What kid wouldn't want to fingerpoint whenever something bad happens?

But Olivia was the one who almost got taken away today. She's the terrified one in the corner right now.

And deep down, Peter knew it was his fault. He wanted to cry too but what was the point? He had been the immature brat who let Olivia angrily wander off. He was the one who got her angry to begin with.

He never meant to be a brat. He just didn't like the idea of growing up.

Growing up meant that he would have to become an adult. And as he and Olivia were starting out, adjusting to life here years ago, they had developed a philosophy to live by that neither could deny: adults were bad people, adults betray, adults hurt children…intentionally.

Today just proved that philosophy again, but it all could've been avoided.

It used to be that adults would look after the children, wouldn't it? But there was no one to look after them…especially now when there's unexplained monsters that come out of nowhere and creepy brown clouds to be worried about.

By this point however, Peter was fine. He could take care of himself real easy.

But what about Olivia? She couldn't look after herself, and Peter felt bad for expecting her to. He thought he was doing fine helping her out, teaching her what he knew about things. But he needed to do more.

He really needed to grow up. He needed to stop acting like a brat and prepare for what to expect tomorrow…the day after…

They were going to spend their lives here after all. If Peter didn't try, they would both be lost.

…

For the next few days, Olivia retreated to her dark refuge in the bathroom. Peter made short trips to town feeling guilty and scared about leaving her alone. But he had to get information. He needed to know what it was that happened that fateful day.

From what the people and the papers were saying, it was "some kind of battle". Someone from 'the other side' destroyed a town with a strange bomb that released a dark brown cloud that traveled for miles in the sky. Then, they tried to unleash dangerous and big man-made monsters. The only good that came out of the situation was that the monsters only had an appetite for dying or dead creatures. They were scavengers and as one man said "an error of human devils."

…

Later that night, Peter cautiously entered the bathroom. Olivia was curled up in the tub feeling very uncomfortable and cold.

"Livvy?"

She looked over and saw that Peter had brought in a lit candle. "I brought you a blanket and some pillows."

She greedily took them into the tub and fluffed them out.

"I found a bunch of books the library dumped out. It was on the very far side of town so I tried to bring back a few you would like. I thought maybe…" Peter scratched his head. "Maybe, I could read one to you?"

In the glow of the candlelight, Peter could see Olivia give a slight nod. She wasn't going to talk. He didn't blame if she never talked again. It was clear in her eyes that she would be permanently traumatized by the ordeal. It would just be another set of nightmares for her every night from now on.

So Peter would read to her. She was very attentive whenever Peter read. It became a source of comfort for her to hear words from his mouth she had no clue how to even spell.

After a few nights of staying in the bathroom with her, Peter was stunned when Olivia told him very shyly that she wanted to sleep back upstairs again…that she wanted to try reading some of the book as well.

They crawled into bed and he let her read. He wouldn't be chucking nuts at her or teasing her for being off the mark this time around. What she really needed was encouragement and a reason to trust him again.

In the middle of the night, she wakes up from another nightmare and immediately she hugs Peter awake. He didn't mind it, though. Even though he was asleep, Olivia had trusted him enough to come straight to him in a time of need.

Bad as it was, there was hope now that they would both recover and move on…

They were going to be okay.

* * *

**COMING UP NEXT:** No freakin idea. I'm probably gonna take a break from this for now and work on my writer's block problem with "Back in the Dark Again". It's gotten worse now since I've decided that some major plot stuff for the middle of the story would work better as a separate fic altogether that I'm now tempted to write. Which means, "Back" will be delayed again...ha!

I seriously need a cage and a cattle prod for my giant Fringe fic plot bunnies.


	4. That Happy Place

**Title:** That Happy Place (part one of possibly 2 ficlets)

**Rated:** T

**Summary:** This was choice 'A' from a poll I asked you guys in the second chap. Choice 'B' was the one I did in chapter 3. Deals with an alternate take on Peter and Olivia while they are held captive in Jones' basement in chaps 7 & 8 of "Growing Up".

**Characters:** Peter (age 9), Olivia (age 7), Mr. Jones, Mitchell Loeb

**Warnings:** More creepy stuff, plus angst and stuff to make you more sad, heh

--------

With each passing night, the bodies began to pile up. The upstairs adults would bring down a fresh corpse, bagged in a clear garbage bag, to toss in an open pile on the other side of the stairs…all plain sight of the children imprisoned behind the gated wall.

It was intended to. The children would wake up to that foul stench and recoil in horror at the sight. Two of the bodies were slashed open by the throat only making the pile of body bags extra bloody.

The point was to send a message straight to the children and traumatize them into absolute obedience.

Loeb said it best one day when the children awoke and saw him adding to the pile. "This is what happens to people who don't listen to us…" He added to his taunt "…and it can happen to little children, too."

All of this made Peter's true nature show. He wanted to convince the adults so much that he wasn't afraid and that their tactics wouldn't scare him.

But he was…

The worse was at night when all was dark and that dreaded pile was still there and the rats would make their descent. There were plenty of traps and disinfectant to stave up any infection, but Peter was still afraid, still shaking and crying at night.

Olivia seemed calm, almost numbing to the situation. She was the only reason, Peter tried to maintain self-control, the only reason he hasn't allowed these monsters to break him no matter how hard they pushed him or caused him pain during the day. He wasn't alone, and that made all the difference here.

"Livvy?" he whispered. "You awake?"

The moon was bright out and Olivia looked over at Peter with tired, struggling eyes. "Yeah. I can't sleep."

"Come here."

"To your bed?"

"Yeah."

"But the rats might get me."

"They won't get you if you run."

She looked over and saw about four or five rats climbing on top of the body bags.

"Come on," said Peter. "Make it quick."

Olivia kept turning her head to the rats and then to Peter's bed. She swung her feet over the side of her bed too scared to let them touch the floor. It was five feet to his bed but still too long for a small child like her.

She took a deep breath, hoped that Peter would be right…

…and dashed for it.

A couple of the rats noticed the movement and tried to run toward the gate but the traps stop them.

Olivia leapt right onto Peter's bed but unintentionally shoved Peter against the sidewall.

"Ow!"

Peter clasped his hands over his mouth. He and Olivia stayed very, very, very silent for what seemed almost like a whole minute. They waited but heard no whispers, no footsteps of any kind above them. There was no light through the floors above them tonight.

They looked at each other and then Peter finally relaxed. Suddenly, the two children were giggling softly. They didn't know whether it was from relief or from how silly it was that Olivia almost crushed Peter.

Regardless, it was the most the two of them smiled since being here.

On some nights, though not every night, Olivia would try and sneak into Peter's bed. They got better sleep as a result. Considering how much toiling they did in the daytime…the best thing they had to comfort them was to be with each other.

…

In their basement prison, Peter and Olivia had little to occupy themselves with except for some blocks, some children's puzzles, and crayons and paper. Olivia could solve the puzzles in 5 minutes without any problem and once after, she got bored and just sat there looking at Peter while he tried to occupy himself with crayons and paper.

"What are you doing with those?" Olivia asked pointing to the crayons.

"Just drawing."

"What's drawing?"

"Um…," said Peter. "It's when you make a pictures." He lifted his crayon drawing to show Olivia. "See, it's a picture of us."

"Which one is me?"

Peter looked at her dumbfounded. "You're the one with the yellow hair!"

"But that's looks nothing like me," she said feeling almost offended. "Why do I look like a stick?"

"Just work with me on this," said Peter. "It's supposed to be a picture of us." He pointed to the other stick person with the brown hair.

"And what's that we're on?"

Peter pointed to the green stuff. "That's grass. And that…" Peter said pointing to the blue above the stick figures. "That's the sky."

"That's a funny color to make the sky."

Peter was getting really irritated now. "Oh yeah? What color should it be other than BLUE?"

Olivia looked at the crayons and found very few colors to work with. She put only two crayons on the table that would be remotely close to representing the sky in her world: gray and black.

"Doesn't he ever let you go outside?" Peter asked referring to Jones. Olivia shook her head.

"It's looks pretty though," she said. "I wish I could see it someday."

"Well as soon as I find a way out," said Peter. "You'll get to see this place. That's the fun of drawing. You get to make pictures of things you want to see."

Olivia felt a little hopeful but still the concept of the drawing was seen with a bit of uncertainty. "Where is it?"

Peter shrugged. "I dunno. We would have to run very far away to find it, but don't worry, it's gonna be there. A nice happy place. No adults or monsters. No bad clouds either. It'll just be you and me."

He gave the drawing to Olivia. She awed at the peaceful colors and the strange yellow circle that Peter drew in the blue area. That must've been the big light that came out during the day. Slowly she was getting the idea. The picture wasn't a real scenario but it was a hopeful one and in the picture the two of them were holding hands, which made it even better.

She hugged the paper closer to her and whispered to herself "I can't wait."

…

Jones had been far too easy on Olivia since training her. But now it had gotten to around test time and she was scared. A potted tomato vine, all dried up and dead was placed in front of her and she was supposed to get it to turn into a sunflower.

But nothing seemed to work. Olivia couldn't see the dead vine as anymore than a dead vine.

She wished she knew how to pretend. She couldn't understand why that little girl Astrid would host a tea party without actually serving any real tea. How could she possibly get a dead plant to turn into a flower?

She sat alone in that dark room, staring at the impossible plant on the table, while Jones stepped out to talk to Loeb.

In her desire to focus on the plant, Olivia began to pick up strange noises, mumbling from the other side of the closed door. For some reason the voices became clear as if she picked up a channel.

"I'm telling you, he won't run," said Loeb. "I can leave him alone out there all day and he's still gonna be there."

"He must be staying on account of Miss Dunham," said Jones. "That is a problem."

"Why don't we just kill him?"

Olivia froze. It couldn't be. Were they talking about Peter?

"I don't believe it would be wise to kill a child unless it is our last resort."

"Well they're gonna find these kids here," said Loeb. "And then what are we gonna do? You said yourself that the boy is a waste. We don't need at all. So what if we just kill him and throw the body in a gutter somewhere…we could lead them away from here."

Jones sighed. "Perhaps you are right. We'll give him a few more days. If he doesn't run, then we'll kill him."

Her eyes began to fill with tears. These monsters were going to kill Peter and there was nothing that they could do to stop it. It just wasn't fair. Now it getting less and less real that she and Peter would be able to run away to their happy place.

She wiped her eyes as Jones reentered the room. He was not pleased that Olivia still hadn't finished the test yet.

"Olivia," he growled. "The flower…now!"

She kept her eyes on the dead plant but her mind was more on Peter's drawing. She would give anything for that drawing to be real now. She wondered if there would lots of flowers in their happy place…maybe flowers like the one she had to make come out of nowhere right now with big colorful petals.

Suddenly, the dead vine began to move on it's own. It swiveled until it stood erect and then something began to burst from the tip. It opened up and a large shiny flower filled with long yellow petals revealed itself.

She had done it. The flower had come out.

Now she was beginning to understand this pretend stuff and how real it could possibly be.

Jones made her do a few more tests, which she was able to do successfully thanks to her own ability to finally imaging that happy place. It was real in her mind and nothing to tell her otherwise.

But once testing was over and Olivia was brought back to the basement she had some thinking to do…thinking that made her cry all over again. They were still going to kill Peter. No matter what she could imagine, she that there was no way out of that. She couldn't will her mind to stop the monsters from killing Peter. She was still a child after all.

There was only one other option left…and idea that she had. She had no idea if it would even work but in the end it could save Peter.

An hour of fresh tears later, Olivia could hear Loeb coming down with Peter and she quickly wiped her eyes.

"Hey, Livvy," Peter greeted. "What's hanging?"

She looked up at the pipes. "I don't see anything hanging."

"It's just an expression."

"Oh."

Peter studied Olivia's face and noticed the despair amongst her pink puffy cheeks. "You look really sad. Is something wrong? Did he hurt you?"

"No." Olivia shook her head. "I…I think I can do it now. I think I can do the things they said I can do."

"That's good. So you can imagine whatever you want and it will happen right? Maybe you can find us a way to get out of here."

"Yeah," Olivia half-chuckled along with Peter.

Peter stood waiting in anticipation. "Well? Aren't you gonna try it…come on."

Olivia hesitated knowing what it was that she was about to do. Peter was sitting on his bed watching her but was unaware that he was suddenly compelled to stand on the bed.

He was getting a bit dizzy and confused. He had no idea what was happening, only that he was suddenly jumping on the bed.

Just a little higher he got with every jump, and then his head hit the pipe that was hanging above him. It knocked Peter out and he fell off the bed crashing to the floor.

The pipe developed a crack from the collision and now water was slowly dripping out.

Her plan hopefully worked. Loud footsteps made their descent into the basement. The angry Jones was in front. "What was that noise?!"

He opened the gated wall when he saw Peter lying on the floor with a bleeding head. Olivia kept her focus on Peter as Jones check his pulse. "He must be dead," he said. "Hit his head on the pipes."

Jones then ordered Loeb to get the van as he picked up Peter. Olivia was no longer focusing on Peter as he was being carried out.

She could only hope it worked. For a brief moment that Olivia focused on Peter she was able to fool Jones into thinking that Peter was dead but he was still breathing before they came downstairs. Now she could only hope that he would be able to get away. She didn't want him to come back for her or they would kill him.

Peter had to leave and never come back…but at least she would be alive.

The gated wall was closed on her as the figures went up the stairs. She hoped to get one last glimpse of him. But soon the basement door close and she was left alone in a basement with such a corpse pile and the rats.

She ran back to her bed and grabbed the piece of paper she had left there. It was all that she had left of Peter and the vision of their happy place. Now she knew that she was never going to make it there but maybe Peter would and that thought alone made her feel a little bit better.

She kissed the stick figured Peter in the drawing and whispered "Goodbye, Peter."

…

Peter had been found just hours after his supposedly dead self was dropped in a ditch. It was right on the border between Vermont and Canada and by chance, it was the Canadian Mounties that found him and took him to a nearby hospital. His head had been hit badly and his memory was very frizzy for weeks afterwards when he was given sanctuary and new life in a foster home.

It was about a month later when all the memories came back. He began to scream and panic. Olivia was the first person he cried out for.

"Livvy?! Where are you, Livvy?!"

His foster parents weren't able to make much sense of the boy except to have learned of his name and that he escaped from a lab. They didn't believe the lab part was possible. Peter no longer wore the ankle bracelet since Jones had it removed ages ago. And his ramblings about Olivia were seen as no more than an imaginary friend. In a way, the foster family did not believe that Peter had regained his memories back and that he was only guessing at what his name was.

It would create a riff that was already wide enough. Peter had not only been separated from Olivia. He had no idea of where it was that he and she were originally held captive. Without that knowledge there was no way for him to run out and look for her.

He was stuck here in this lousy foster home with lousy foster parents and even lousy foster siblings. He would be considered a baby for crying a night over someone that no one believed even existed.

But as far as Peter was concerned, they could all go to hell. Olivia was real. The horrifying experiences they had endured were real.

He had just had to be patient. He just had to wait. As soon as he got enough money or as soon as his foster family would let him get out, he was going to travel the entire world looking for Olivia.

For now, Peter could only hoped that Olivia would hang on, until he finds her again.


	5. Forever Freaks: Part 1

**Title:** "Forever Freaks, Part 1"

**Rating:** T

**Summary:** Teenage Peter on a quest to be normal again.

**Characters:** Peter (16), Olivia (14), plus mystery guest

**Warnings:** Other than Pt 2 will be rated M…you will HATE AND LOATHE AND GAG at the mystery guest which is a character from the show I have featured in this two-parter. But I assure you it all pays off in Pt 2. If not…then…

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Every afternoon, Peter would nervously watch the group of chatty girls who often sat at the same table outside the café, often when Peter was in between work. For the past several years, Peter managed to pick several odd jobs around town that paid very little money: mowing peoples lawns, delivering things, anything that didn't require him to have any proof of identity.

His current job was painting a fence for a shop across from the café. This allowed him to get a good view of his 'choices'. One dark blonde girl had caught his eye and she caught his back. The other girls noticed him and began to giggle. Looks alone told Peter that the clique found him cute and charming.

This was good. This was what Peter intended to happen…to find a possible attraction to one of the girls and see where it would take him. It took him a long time to realize that looking for a girl would solve his "problem" but he shoves it in the back of his mind so that he isn't reminded that he even has a problem.

He wanted to approach the girls but there was too much holding him back. Peter still had his inner struggles. Being 16 did not make Peter a more mature being like he vowed to become. He had extreme difficulty getting along with the adults around town, the resentment and distrust still dwelled within him for the traumatic childhood they had caused. His inner demons set him back socially and emotionally but he learned to hide it by developing a rebellious bad boy image that the girls around here tend to go for.

And then there were other little things, like wearing the same rugged clothes everyday and struggling to keep his hair neat. How long would it be before those girls would learn of his homeless squalor lifestyle? Or worse yet, how long would it be before they knew of his dark secrets…including the one that he wore on his ankle (always hidden from view) or the one that was waiting for him to come 'home'?

On his way back to said 'home', Peter would shop for what food and other things he knew what was needed to survive. This time around, the trip required him to get something that was just plain humiliating for him to shop for. Even the grocer gave him an odd look when he paid for the items and quickly walked out.

Walking down Main Street, Peter found himself stopping infront of a boutique window. A peach-colored floral stood there from behind the glass. He couldn't stop thinking about it. The one thought that came to mind was: _'she would look pretty in that'_.

The thought however was short-lived when Peter knew it would be tough as hell to scrape and save for something like that. He would have to get another job but it was impossible. Many of the shops would require Peter to fill out an application containing parent signatures. Just the thought of the latter made him shudder. Plus he didn't want to spend too long away from 'home'…for many reasons.

"Ah!"

Something had shoved himself unto Peter and the grocery bags fell out of his hands. The sidewalks became scattered with various food items along with books and papers.

"Oh god! I'm so sorry! I wasn't paying attention!"

Peter looked up and saw the dark blonde. "It's fine," he said as he rubbed his head. Clearly the girl, as attractive as she was, seemed to be clueless to her surroundings. She was wearing a Walkman with loud headphones on at the moment of their collision.

Being the gentleman that he pretended to be, Peter gathered up the girl's books and papers. He looked at one book curiously. "Calculus, huh?

"Yeah," the girl smiled. "It's not easy stuff."

"Are you kidding me?" Peter joked. "I can figure this stuff out like the back of my head."

In turn, she helped picked up all the groceries and put them back in the bag. Before Peter could stop her, she had picked up one last box that fell out of the bag. "Yours?"

Peter cringed as the girl held that box of tampons in her hand, waiting for an answer. He turned his head away and said "they're…for my sister." Immediately he felt guilty. It was an awful lie he had no choice but to tell.

"My friends and I…we've seen you around," said the girl. "But never at school. Don't you go?"

Peter turned on a fake smile for her. "Don't need to, Sweetheart. I'm home-schooled."

"Really? Oh my god, that's so cool! So like…do your parents teach you? Do you get less work to do?"

Peter nearly cringed when she mentioned 'parents'. Honestly and bitterness was in his throat as he explained "Well, my parents really don't do much for me. I learned everything pretty much on my own and I've do a lot better that way. In fact, you might say I could teach this at your school."

"Oh my god," said the girl. "My friends and I, we're all in this class together. We're having a hard time with this stuff. Maybe you could come around and tutor us…or maybe lighten the homework load for us?"

Peter knew that this could only mean one thing. "Depends…," he said teasingly. "What do I get out of the deal?"

"Anything you want?" she said optimistically. "$10 a week from each of us?"

Peter rubbed his chin. "That sounds almost intriguing. I may have to take you up on that offer."

"That's great!"

"Well," said Peter as he picked up his bags. "I gotta get home. But I'm sure I'll see you and your girlfriends tomorrow."

The girl giggled. "Hey, wait! What's your name?"

"It's Peter," he said. "And what might your name be?"

"I'm Tessa."

Peter smiled. "See you tomorrow, Tessa."

***

The sun was setting as Peter disappeared into the woods, being very careful to make sure he wasn't seen or followed. It almost made him feel a little depressed but also a bit relieved to return to the abandoned orchard every night.

He was worried when he went into the cottage and found it empty. He grabbed the small flashlight and went back outside to where the makeshift outhouse was. He built the whole thing years ago out of scrap wood and it looked really cramped and pathetic but it still worked.

Just when Peter was about to open the door, he heard a gasp and then he realized who it was that was in there.

"Livvy? It's Peter. Have you been in there all day?!"

A faint moan came from inside. "Yes."

"You didn't have to stay in there and wait for me. You knew I had work."

"I know," she said. "It just hurts like hell. I couldn't take it anymore. Did you get the thing you said would help me?"

Peter rushed back to the house and came back out with the box of tampons. "Open the door."

The small wooden door crept open just enough for Olivia's small skinny arm to reach out and grab the box. She quickly closed the door.

Peter waited as he heard some soft groans of frustration. "How do you use this?"

"Seriously?!" God, it was bad enough for Peter to have to explain earlier today why she woke up with unusual bleeding. He went and got her what she needed for it to stop and that was all he was gonna say about it. "I'm not gonna tell you just read the damn box!"

"I need light."

Peter sighed and tossed the flashlight in. It was a long and awkward wait for her to finally figure it out and finally she came out.

"Feel better now?" Peter asked her.

"Not really," she said.

"Well you'll have to get use to it. That 'thing' is gonna be very recurrent."

Olivia was surprised. "Recurrent? You mean this is gonna happen again? How long?"

"Try every month for the next 30 to 40 years."

She kept asking Peter as they had dinner if he was kidding. It made her really angry and moody when he became insistent that he was serious.

"I hate eating this," said Olivia.

Peter was getting furious with her. How could she not like food that for once they didn't get from a dumpster or fell out of a rotted fruit tree? "Well that's fine, Livvy," he said sarcastically. "Tomorrow I'll remember to fish something straight out of the dumpster just for you."

"That's not what I meant," said Olivia angrily. "I can't eat anymore of these Twinkies. They're making me sick."

He couldn't believe that Olivia wouldn't like Twinkies. It was the most affordable filling kind of food his few dollars a day could buy him. Plus, he lived on these things when he was young and had a normal life.

"Then go to bed," said Peter.

Olivia said nothing and went back upstairs to the loft alone. Near the top of the steps she would quietly stop to listen. After a minute, she took the last step up.

Peter didn't follow her like she thought he would. She should've known better. It had been a couple of years since Peter stopped sleeping in the bed with Olivia and opted for the worn-out couch downstairs. His excuse was that the bed made his back sore and was getting too uncomfortable for him. For some reason Olivia had trouble believing that.

Now she was regretting being in a foul mood as she had been in since she found herself bleeding.

'_It's because of me,'_ Olivia thought. She started to feel very depressed. It was the only reasoning behind the two of them being a bit distance as they have been for quite some time. Something was clearly wrong with her…well, besides the obvious freakish abilities that were placed upon her.

'_It's because I'm scared.'_

She knew that Peter had a normal life and a normal childhood before he was brought to Westwood. He wasn't afraid of going out and talking to other people. He had the better chance of growing up to be normal and be a functioning member of society.

He would get over what happened to the two of them through time…unlike Olivia who would became permanently traumatized.

Since the attack on her several years ago, Olivia never left the house. She often spent the daytime curling up in the darkest corners she could find. She would take sponge baths using the pump instead of going down to the creek like the two of them use to.

To add to their problems, Peter found new missing person flyers of the two of them posted all around town. Peter now looked nothing like his childhood photo in the flyer, but Olivia physically didn't change at all. She was still the weak and wary little girl he had liberated from Westwood all those years ago…plus the reward for her capture was three times that of Peter's. It meant that despite being freed from the torture and abuse she endured…Olivia would never be able to go back out into the world again.

Peter tried everything he could to free her from her psychological torment. He even tried dragging her to come outside with him to go to the creek but she would fight and bite him. Eventually he gave up and just allowed her to become a total recluse who would have only Peter as human company.

Perhaps that was it. She had become so dependent and clingy to Peter that now he couldn't stand her. She started to feel very guilty for being a little possessive of him. She coped with Peter being gone for most of the day at first but deep down the fear and the loneliness was driving her insane. She was even afraid to learn about anything of the outside world unless she learned it from Peter.

It wouldn't be long now before Peter would decide to just leave this place and never come back. She knew he could do it, too. After all, he could walk in and out of this place without fear.

She missed sharing the bed with him at night. He must've stopped having nightmares years ago, but for her. They never left. Now she spent every night crying and fighting off the traumatizing memories alone…

***

Peter's business with the girls was becoming successful. He was earning more doing their homework and doing half-ass tutoring then he did with the lousy jobs the adults gave him. He continued to use the money to get better food and essentials but also things for his own benefit: hair gel, cologne, cleaner clothes, and a shaving kit. He continued using the bad boy façade when out in public to continue impressing others. He earned a reputation in town for being a mysterious, wise, rebel. Few knew that he didn't go to school and yet he was a gifted genius who could easily fit himself into the scene as if he truly were a normal ordinary high school student.

Peter continued to attract more and more girls with his charisma and his black market talents causing the boys to become jealous. Eventually however, they let him off the hook when he offered to do some of their math and science homework and in the end…more money.

But Tessa, remained Peter's goal. Everyday after school let out, he would meet her and her friends at the café. They would talk and flirt. Peter would then take some of their homework assignments back to the cottage with him and have everything done by morning to reap the profits.

It was a sweet routine.

"What's that you're doing?" Olivia asked very shyly.

Peter was absolutely exhausted but he had too many assignments to work on and the math was getting more difficult. "Just school stuff. Okay. Do you mind? I have to get all of this done by morning."

So much for knowing Calculus "all too well".

"Since you did you started going to school?"

Peter couldn't deal with the stress. He gave Olivia one of the math books and said, "I don't okay? Here's some reading material. Please leave me alone for a little while so I can finish this!"

Olivia felt a little bad about upsetting Peter, so she stopped asking questions and just took the book from him. He was on the floor nearly tearing his hair out over stuff he thought he knew. Olivia meanwhile got bored and sat with the math book in hand, taking a pencil and messing around with some of the pages.

10 minutes later, Peter looked up and immediately panicked.

"Ah! No!"

He swiped the pencil from Olivia's hand. "This isn't my book. It's someone else's."

Olivia looked pale as though she was gonna have a panic attack. "Oh, Peter. I'm sorry." She quickly got up and ran back up to the loft. She couldn't bear to stand there and see Peter get mad…especially with her.

"Livvy, wait!"

Peter didn't go after her. Instead he only took a deep sigh and looked at the damage. God, he almost felt like an ass for getting at Olivia over something that was erasable as pencil marks.

But then he did a double take. Upon closer inspection, Peter realized that Olivia had written numbers in the book. She even had numbers in place of the variables and it all seemed near perfect…near correct.

Peter flipped the pages and realized that she had completed 20 pages of math problems in only 10 minutes.

Olivia was lying in bed trying to hold it all together. She dried her eyes quickly when she heard footsteps.

Peter peeked his head into the loft. "Livvy?"

She turned her head back to him curiously.

"I could use your help with smiled," said Peter though he was willing to admit it was a little selfish of him to seek her help to help others cheat. But she knew nothing of the pressures of school homework so what did she have to worry about?

A smile came to her face. Peter wanted her help with something! He wanted her company. It was more than enough to get Olivia off the bed and join Peter back downstairs to do some more Calculus problems.

* * *

**_Okay, so not much going on or ending in Part One. The good stuff is gonna come up in Part Two. Count on it! Part Two is gonna be rated M...for good reason. Dont wanna spoil though. Dont worry I start writing tomorrow._**

**_After "Forever Freaks" is done. We got another guest writer coming up: ElleThom. And if anyone out there has ideas or their own contributions to this universe...feel free to send them to me via PM or email, righty O!_**


	6. Forever Freaks: Part 2 rated M

**WOW! I was really impressed with the reviews I got for a filler chap nonetheless. Well as promised, here's the good stuff and this was exhausting for me to write. I hate writing fics and then having them turn out WAY WAY WAAAAAAY longer than I expected them to be. I guess I'm too obsessed with details (well with this chapter I guess they were kinda needed). Still, I really need to learn to skim down things.**

**Title:** "Forever Freaks, Part 2"

**Rating:** a really big M!

**Summary:** Ever wondered what Peter's "problem" was from the last chapter...or the real reason why he didn't want to sleep in the bed with Olivia anymore?

**Characters:** Peter (16), Olivia (turns 15), that one loath-worthy guest character

**Warnings:** Lots of sexual adult themes...sex...a bit of eroticism...think twisty Fringe AUish type adaptation of "Blue Lagoon" ;)

--------

Naïve but grateful for the company, Olivia continued to help Peter behind the scenes. For someone who had received no formal education, she was surprisingly gifted at math or anything involving numbers.

And Peter continued to impress Tessa and her friends.

"This looks a little too perfect," said Tessa. "My teachers will start to suspect something if they see all the perfect scores I'm getting."

"No problem," said Peter. "Just redo a few of the answers. Make it look like you can count."

"Oh funny."

Peter was getting very anxious to leave. "Listen, I gotta go…"

"Wait," said Tessa. "Aren't you coming back for tonight?"

"What's tonight?"

Peter could see Tessa's girlfriends giggling behind her as she spoke. "They're having the Spring Flower Festival here tonight, silly. Everyone's gonna be there because it's the last one they're gonna have for a long time with the war and all."

He smirked. "That sounds good. Perhaps you and I could even go together."

The girls giggled again.

"Really?"

Peter gave her a flirtatious smile. "See you tonight, then?"

He could now walk away victorious. Peter Bishop had finally landed a date, which meant he landed a girl…

His "problem" would finally get resolved…the same "problem" that started when he was around 14 years old.

***

_That's when "it" began._

_And he knew what "it" actually was, thanks to the rummaging he use to do through his mother's closet of inappropriate books and materials. He must've been 7 or 8 when he first found those pornographic magazines. This made him more intrigue and wanting to learn more, from a scientific standpoint, as to what was going on in those pictures. You might say that Peter knew far too much about something that other kids would constantly giggle and make obscene jokes about. In fact, Peter would often tell the other kids that the correct term was "copulation" or "coitus". That's when they would look at Peter all funny._

_But nothing was funny about what he was feeling down there…a mix of irritation, sensitivity, and discomfort. He remembered what the books taught him and vowed to prepare himself for when puberty would occur._

_However, he never expected his first erection to come from out of nowhere, nor did he expect it to be so…sensitive. He was hesitant about dealing with the "problem"… especially since he was around Olivia all the time. There would be more frequent trips to the bathroom but then his "problem" would just keep coming back again._

_As if that wasn't enough, Peter found himself waking up more mornings with wet spots. This was getting real humiliating for him. It wouldn't be long now before Olivia would accuse him of wetting the bed…or notice the bulge that he couldn't seem to hide from her unless he wore thick pants. _

_Then one hot August night came, and his "problem" developed into something bigger and more complex. It seemed like a normal night. Peter was already in bed and he was waiting for Olivia to join him…when she took off her entire shirt. _

_Peter freaked out. "Livvy! What are you doing?"_

_It was dark, and her hair was long enough to cover certain things he shouldn't be seeing. Still he turned his eyes away daring not to look. _

_Olivia looked really confused at his sudden panic. "What? It's too hot and I can't sleep in clothes AND a blanket when it's hot."_

"_I don't care. Just put a shirt on or something!"_

"_Why? It's never bothered you before."_

"_Well…it bothers me now!"_

"_Then don't look at me while you sleep," she said. She chose to ignore Peter's request and got into bed topless. Olivia pulled the bed sheet up to her chest just enough but still Peter backed away from her until he was sleeping with his nose touching the wall. _

_Was Olivia that naïve or maybe she didn't get the inappropriateness behind a girl going to sleep topless? Then again, he knows how ridiculous it was that a boy and a girl were sleeping in the same bed together since they were small children. Sure it was cute back then, but people get older, and manners often change with time. Peter was glad that it wasn't winter. The two of them would often get instinctively closer in colder temperatures for body heating purposes and now just the thought was bothering the hell outta him._

_Hours passed on into the night and Peter was enduring his worst erection yet. There was no way he would able to survive the whole night like this…and what if he wet the bed even worse than before?_

_Having lucked out by sleeping on the side closest to the wall, Peter would have to crawl over Olivia to get out of the bed. Just as he was right over her however, his arms gave in and he collapsed, flat on top of her._

_She woke up with a gasp. Her face was just inches apart from Peter's panicky one. "Sorry! Sorry! I was just getting up to go to the bathroom."_

_He was careful to push himself up from the awkward position he was in, pressing his hand against the mattress to push himself off her._

_Olivia nearly bit her lip trying not to make a sound but let out an awkward "Mmpf." Peter didn't understand why until he realized his night vision wasn't as clear as he thought. His hand was pressed against something…and it wasn't a mattress._

"_Shit!"_

_He let go of his hand and immediately got himself off of Olivia scrambling off the bed. He went to the bathroom mumbling 'sorry' again. _

_He didn't make it to the outhouse, but instead went to the bushes. He had to make this quick as Olivia was probably waiting for him. There was bound to be more awkward contact just trying to get back to his side of the bed. It was already bad enough what he did. But the feeling was still tingling in his palm. The contact was only separated by a very thin and worn-out cotton sheet, yet he practically felt the whole thing in his hand. He could feel how soft it was…how it was slowly taking form…_

_The thoughts were too much on his mind as worked on relieving himself. Surprisingly, it was working…and instead of relief becoming a long and painful struggle, Peter felt instant fulfilled pleasure. And soon, he became his normal self again. _

_Somehow thinking of Olivia did the trick._

_He knew it was wrong and he knew it was because he had spent so many years isolation with the only girl he's known. Of course there would be some sort of sexual attraction, but even a smart man like him knew it was misplaced. _

_He couldn't share the bed with Olivia anymore. One more night like this and he wouldn't be able to contain his desire to pull her into him and feel every bit of her…especially with both of them wearing so little as they did. So he told her that sleeping on the couch downstairs would be less painful for his sleep. It was half-truth. Whenever his thoughts of Olivia came to him in the middle of the night, at least he would be able to get outside quickly._

_The more it happened, the more he was willing to admit: he wanted sex with Olivia. But it was so wrong. How in the world could he possibly to get her to go along with it, let alone explain what it was and why he needed it? She must think that their relationship was more like family. Peter never saw it that way. He hated family. He felt that from the beginning they shared something much deeper than that…though he wouldn't call it love by any means…more like a special kind of bond that would bring two traumatized children together who would swore off all contact with the outside world._

_But he knew this wasn't going to go away. At his age, he needed sex or he was going to completely lose his mind._

_He decided the only solution to everything was "coitus". If not with Olivia, then maybe with another girl out there…_

_It wasn't going to be easy, but all Peter needed to do was observe his peers, then he would go out and find the one who would be there to help him_

***

With all the things he had been buying to improve his image, he had nearly forgotten about the peach floral dress he saw. He was lucky he had barely had the money today to buy it today.

He came home to find Olivia was trying to make dinner out of some hot dogs and au gratin potatoes, which was all they could afford.

"Smells good," said Peter.

"Thanks," she said shyly. "I was trying to make a recipe from this cookbook I found but…we didn't have any spices and it called for sausages."

"No problem. I'm not big on that authentic stuff anyways."

Olivia brought out the pan that had the meat and potatoes on it. Peter took his fork and tried to reach for a good piece on the farther side but Olivia unwittingly got at it first.

She smiled as she stretched her fork out. Peter decided to humor her and take a bite. "A natural chef. You know if you want really want to make some nicer food, we could buy some vegetable seeds and start planning ourselves a garden outside."

"That would be great."

"Listen," Peter said nervously. "I'm gonna be gone tonight for a few hours."

Just as he feared, Olivia looked up at him a little surprised and very worried. It was hard for Peter too. He never left Olivia alone at night. He always came home by dusk. Quickly he said "I just want to know if you're gonna be okay with that…I mean, I don't urgently have to go…but it wouldn't be long…"

She assured Peter. "It's fine, Peter. I'll probably be asleep by then. I won't even notice that you're gone."

Peter smiled. "Okay…I promise to make it quick. But before I leave…" He pulled out the shopping bag that had been resting by his seat. "I know you tend to forget because…well you don't know the significance of it…but I do…that's why I always remember."

Olivia looked at him confused. "Remember what?"

He gave her the shopping bag. "Your birthday."

This was surprising to Olivia. She almost didn't think to look in the bag but when she did she was surprised to pull out a peach-colored floral dress that fit her just about right.

"You got this for me?"

"Well yeah…that's what people do for other people on their birthday. And after 15 years, don't you think you deserve something nice?"

Olivia didn't realize that Peter meant what he said. She was fine with everything they had though their lives were a mess. "It is nice!" she said. "Should I try it on?"

Peter was about to jump at saying "yes" but he had nearly forgotten about his plans for tonight. "It's getting late," said Peter. "You don't have to try it on now. Maybe another time."

"Okay, well…goodnight Peter," she said as she went upstairs with her new dress. "And…thank you."

"You're welcome," Peter said. "And Happy Birthday."

***

As he made his way into town too many thoughts were running through Peter's head. He was probably more worried than she was about leaving her alone at night. Surely she would be wise enough to not answer the door for anyone or to least hide if someone tried to break in. But what if someone did come? And if they did find her?

Dammit, it was bothering him. But as he arrived at the Flower Festival, Peter had to remind himself why he was doing all of this to begin with. This was his golden opportunity. Hopefully after tonight, he would be more comfortable to be around Olivia and all the awkwardness and uncertainty in their companionship would cease…at least he hoped.

Peter hung out with Tessa and her girlfriends for most of the festivities. It was the perfect romantic scenario for the two of them as they strolled down the streets that had been colorfully decorated for the occasion.

"I'm glad you came, Peter," she said.

"Yeah…me too." Peter wasn't exactly sure how he was supposed to make his move. He did the casual stuff like wrap his arm around her. That was a good start.

Then, they walked several blocks down a quiet street filled with houses. "We're getting awfully far from the festival, don't you think?" said Peter.

Tessa became flirtatious. "That's the point. You do realize where we're at."

Peter looked at his surrounding and then noticed Tessa taking a few steps into a yard. He smiled. "This is your house."

"And my parents are at the festival," she said.

He didn't need a hint to know that all he needed to do was follow her into the house and upstairs into her bedroom. Peter looked out through her window and could see the woods not too far away. His concern for Olivia was seeping in again.

"Nice isn't it?" said Tessa.

Peter humored her. "I dunno those woods look awfully creepy."

She laughed. "My dad heard rumors that people have seen children living out there alone. Doesn't that sound crazy? They're probably like wolf-children or something to be living like that."

Inside his own head, Peter was laughing at Tessa's ignorance. For two psychologically damaged orphans, Peter knew that he and Olivia had become far more self-sufficient and civilized than society would've expected them to.

"Either that or…it could be the 'lab freaks'."

Peter froze. He didn't dare ask what she meant by that. How could she know about any of that stuff? He decided he had to get his mind off of that or Tessa would suspect, so he gently grabbed Tessa's arm. "Let's forget creepy stories for a while huh?" And he kissed her. One kiss turned into several passionate ones. This is exactly what they both wanted. And Tessa pulled Peter onto the bed with him. He was able to follow along with everything Tessa desired without going too fast. And soon they were taking off each other's clothes.

Peter had gotten as far as bringing his pants and his briefs down to his knees. And he let Tessa touch him. The wonderful but highly sensitive feelings returned almost nostalgically as he wondered back to home. The air was warm here. It made him think of August nights again. A part of him admitted that he couldn't wait for the warmer evenings to come back…

"Oh…O—"

He stopped himself mid-breath. Thank god he didn't go any further as to call out HER name or else this would not end pleasantly for the both of them…but mostly him.

Tessa was taking off her pants, revealing the cute pink lady boxers she was wearing and Peter decided he should probably take off his pants completely. He threw his pants on the floor and began making out with her.

Mindlessly he wrapped his legs around Tessa's as they kissed and then Tessa started to feel a very unusual and irritating grazing of her lower leg.

"Hold on," she said stopping the kiss. "What the hell is that?"

The two of them looked down. Peter realized Tessa was eyeing his leg.

'_Oh…SHIT!!!'_

Staring at the two of them was that familiar but hated blue strap around Peter's ankle with the etched in 'P'. It had grown with him over the years, as he had been unsuccessful in trying to move it.

Tessa went completely wide-eyed and began to hyperventilate. She jumped off the bed looking at Peter in absolute anger and fear.

"Tessa! This isn't what it looks like! I can explain!!!"

But Peter didn't need to. Tessa's terrified face said it all. She knew what the ankle bracelet meant…She knew who he was…

The attendees at the festival could hear a horrifying scream coming from the neighborhood.

Minutes later, Tessa was running into town wearing only her top and her boxers.

"**LAB FREEEEEEEEEEAK!!!!!!!!!!"**

The townspeople gasp.

"HE'S ONE OF THEM!!! PETER'S A LAB FREAK!!!!!"

Everything went crazy from there. Some people screamed. Others were freaking out.

A "lab freak" had been hiding out in their town, maybe both of them. The townspeople had been informed of their existence by a Dr. Bell, who spoke to them at a town hall meeting about the escapees. He got the townspeople to quickly develop a fear of the "lab freaks" and encouraged them by all means necessary to capture them…preferably the girl…if they were ever spotted. He also told him of the ankle bracelets that would identify them.

The men in the town quickly grab their guns. People were running through the small town. They were scouring Tessa's neighborhood and the surrounding blocks. Peter had already fled from Tessa's place before anyone got there.

Finally at the edge of town, two of the men spotted Peter. "There! He's running into the woods!"

One of the men fired at Peter but missed as he disappeared into the darkness.

"Get the sheriff! Call that Dr. Bell! They're hiding out in the woods. We can have a search party in action by dawn!"

***

Peter didn't stop running. He heard the men's plans to call Dr. Bell. They would be hunted down by morning.

He refused to stop for breath until he got back to the house. Getting back to warn Olivia was above everything else at this point.

They were fucked…they were totally fucked and it was all his fault!

He shoved the door into the cottage opened and fell flat onto the floor in exhaustion. He could barely breath out her name, as he was so exhausted from just getting here.

As he struggled to get up, he almost didn't see the figure looming over him, with a ceramic vase.

"LIVVY, STOP! IT'S ME!!!"

Olivia jumped back, luckily stopping herself in time from attacking Peter. "Peter? Oh my god, you scared me!"

Realizing that Peter couldn't get up, Olivia reached a hand out and pulled him up. He looked up at her…his eyes went wide. Olivia was standing there wearing the peach floral dress he had given her just hours ago…and she had no doubt brushed her hair a little.

His heart stopped. He knew the dress would look pretty on her. He never imagined that she would look so beautiful.

A sad smile formed on Peter's face. "Peter," said Olivia. "Are you okay? What's going on?"

This was the worse news he ever had to give Olivia. This place had been their sanctuary, their refuge from all the terrible things they had been through and they managed to survive and create some fond memories. He remembered making those silly childhood fantasies of their future. They could fix up the place…turn it into something that would've dwarfed that plastic playhouse belonging to that Astrid girl they met. They could live in their own world that didn't have adults or monsters…

He could've stayed here and "play house" with her forever…

"They found us, Livvy."

They both shared the same form of shock and disbelief as the words fell from his lips.

"The people in town. They're sending a search party out in the morning. Dr…one of THEM is gonna be here. They're gonna find this place… We have to leave."

Olivia was close to crying.

"We can't stand around. Pack what you can…food…clothes. We gotta get out of here as soon as we can."

The two went to work grabbing their bags and stuffing them with everything they needed to survive, knowing that they may never find another sanctuary like this one. They could be on the run forever.

***

When morning came, Peter and Olivia were hiding out in a large hill. Using binoculars, Peter could see scattered parties of men and search dogs for miles; some soldiers were even surveying the area.

And farther out, Peter caught a glimpse of him…Dr. Bell. He was conveying with other soldiers as to how to look for the children.

He could feel Olivia shaking right next to him as she looked over the once-peaceful woodland area that they once had to themselves. Peter placed an arm around her and pulled her close for comfort.

"We should go," said Peter.

Olivia whispered, afraid the search parties miles away could hear them. "Where?"

It had been years since Peter had been in a position of uncertainty. And now that they were older, things seemed to be regressing. They had become helpless children once more. No matter if they went into the country or into the cities, it would be impossible to find a place that Peter would consider place for the two of them…especially since towns for miles around would be alerted and would try to hunt for them as well.

"I really don't know." He hugged Olivia tighter. "But no matter what happens, we're gonna stay together, okay?"

He could feel Olivia calming down. If it wasn't for their current nightmare situation, Peter could've stayed there and embrace Olivia but he knew they had to move on…

***

Days after hellish traveling on foot, Peter and Olivia arrived in the ruins of a quarantined town. It had been destroyed by an earlier attack. There were no souls around but it wasn't a place that Peter and Olivia could call home and they knew it. But it was place where they could at least rest for a while.

They were sleeping on a blanket they had in an abandoned building. It was silent and eerie. Olivia cuddled close to Peter.

Peter woke up to the awkward movement. He was feeling sensitive down there all over again and Olivia eyes were right on it.

"What's that?" asked Olivia.

Peter bit his lip. He knew exactly what Olivia was talking about.

"It's…complicated…uhm…"

"Is it sensitive?"

He was at a lost for words. "What?!"

Olivia's face turned red. "I…I've been touching myself…down there. It's sensitive…but it feels good. I was just wondering…"

Peter smiled, reaching out to feel a lock of her hair. He leaned in close and whispered "do you…" he asked nervously. "Do you think of me when you do it?"

She shrugged her shoulders at him. "Of course I do…"

It was a total loss of control. Peter was looking into her eyes and suddenly pulled her in for a kiss.

They didn't breathe.

And even when Peter's hands caressed her sides, Olivia didn't seem scared or in shock. She seemed to follow his movements because…he was clearly making her feel good. She wanted to do the same for him.

Peter then guided her hands to the hem of his shirt. Once his shirt was gone, Peter guided her hands to his pants, taking down his underwear with them. He felt she would be a little more comfortable if he got undressed first. He no longer cared that he was throbbing…no longer cared what was exposed to her.

His hands reached over behind Olivia pulling the zipper downwards.

Even after several days of hard traveling, Olivia still looked beautiful in her peach colored dress. But standing there unclothed in Peter's eyes…she looked absolutely gorgeous.

From that point, Peter knew that he didn't need to explain anything. His touch would guide Olivia and all she needed to do was to relax and enjoy the sensual feelings his lips and fingers provided her.

No longer did Peter care about his little issues. What mattered tonight was giving Olivia a peace of mind as she gave sighs of bliss. Her body became instantly addicted to his touch. The feeling was like nothing she had ever experienced in her young life.

It was amazing…she was amazing.

The highlight of the night came after Peter and Olivia had long been pleasured with one another. Olivia was curled up naked in his lap, having fallen into sleep. Peter continued to hold her, wrapping her in almost possessively. His hand traced down to her pink ankle bracelet and the moment was almost ruined.

They got to have one night where they could forget who they were. Peter and Olivia for one amazing moment felt almost normal.

It didn't change anything though. They were still alone…they were still frightened and deeply traumatized…

They were still lab freaks, prey to society that never showed them love.

Peter no longer cared anymore. Everything that happened leading to their exile, was a sign that Peter was never meant to be out there with normal people…

He was meant to be here with Olivia, to give care and comfort to her so she could have some kind of happiness in this long difficult life. It wasn't a bad alternative. Thanks to the physical bond they have just made with each other, Peter knew that he was never going to leave Olivia, that he would be with her forever.

He kissed her on the head and whispered, "I love you, Livvy."


	7. One Last Pillow Talk writer: ElleThom

**Title:** "One Last Pillow Talk"

**DISCLAIMER:** This chapter written by ElleThom (aka Lilith on F-F) All story compliments can be PM'd to her.

**Rated:** T or M (could go either way)

**Summary:** There's no escaping the past once you've settled down. ;)

**Characters: **Peter, Olivia (both somewhere in their 20s)

**Warnings: **Disturbing death (I swear ElleThom has me beat in the angst department, LOL)

--------

She snuggled into him a little deeper, loathing and loving her dependency upon his presence. His scent filled her nostrils and forced her lungs into continued breathing. She hated how much she loved him.

As he rolled onto her and placed his strong arms around her, she again began to contemplate an end game.

"Stop it." He murmured into her hair.

Her deep sigh answered his request; she could no more cease her rumination than she could be without him. "You know I can't do that." Olivia answered to his recumbent form.

His answering sigh reinforced his frustration. "We have other avenues of discovery Liv…"

"No we don't Peter." Olivia raised herself onto one arm and glared into the darkness. "Don't blow smoke up my ass and tell me it's sunshine."

"Liv, it's not the end of the world."

"It wasn't the last four times either and that didn't change the choices we made." Olivia rose from his grasp, tucked her legs under herself. "What do we have Peter?" she asked rhetorically.

"C'mon Liv, enough with the fatalistic attitude. " Peter placed his back against the grey wall. Everything in their lives had become a grey rendition of life. "And we agreed not to talk about those other times."

Olivia could feel her mind beginning to shatter, the tiniest of fragments at a time. But even with a small mind fracture eventually one would lose it, eventually something would catch fire, or worse. "Peter, please stop. It's...I can feel it starting."

Peter flew into action, since the basement in Jones' cottage; he knew what Olivia meant when she felt it starting. First came the shaking, then the eye rolling. Peter grabbed the blonde woman around her shoulders. He held her closer to himself and began to rock with her. Solemn platitudes of love and devotion usually snuffed the storm from brewing.

"I don't trust myself with another, not after Jenny." Olivia dipped her head into her hands. She bore the weight of guilt even in the name.

"Shhh. Liv, it's ok. We'll take care of it I swear. Jenny was an accident, not your fault. We can try with…This time will be different, Liv. I'll cut back my hours at the Labs. I'll be around more. We don't have to end this one." Peter barely believed himself as he said the words. The work he was doing with the other scientists, they were so close to something in the labs, so close to finding an actual cause for the Blight.

Olivia continued to shake, and Peter realized that his endearments were no longer working to quell her torrent of emotion. Olivia and he both recalled the event; both experienced the loss as well as the abject horror of what happened.

He held her tighter, cursing himself for not recognizing the possibility that her abilities were as wild as they had been thirteen years ago in Jones' cellar.

Peter thought they had it under control, but in one horrible moment, everything could be wiped clean.

XxX

**Five Years Earlier**

_They were the lucky ones; at least that is how they saw it. Having forged a living for themselves in the wilds, Peter educated his enormous brain in the recesses of the abandoned library at Cambridge. Peter Bishop was a scientist of the highest caliber now. He and Olivia had made their way out of the destroyed ruins of Boston and into New York. Still thriving, it was the center of world rehabilitation. Peter worked on repairing the damaged world they lived in. A science that made him valuable and rich, yet Peter was left with little time for Olivia. _

_For her part, Olivia never recovered from her time in the labs. Peter felt responsible for her. It was his responsibility to repair what his father had ruined. That, and if Olivia's abilities had ever been recognized, they could both fall from the heights they had reached. They had managed to dodge questions for years. He had kept her safe and now he could provide for her. No more dumpster diving, or starving in the winter. Olivia was safe, but he could see her slowly falling apart._

_Olivia would assuredly be placed back into the hands of her tormentors in the name of science, and Peter would be separated from the woman he loved. _

_He worked far too many hours, but Olivia learned to keep herself busy, and breeding was mandatory by the state._

_Jennifer was a beautiful blonde baby. Like her father, she was born with green eyes. But Jennifer's birth seemed to rob Olivia of what strength she had left. _

XxX

**Present**

Olivia's shaking began to come under control as Peter held her tighter. It had seemed to the young man that she was developing more strength over the passing years. Her fragility seemed to wane as time grew between Jennifer and now. The subsequent pregnancies had been dealt with efficiently and by his own hand. No one would legally perform an abortion now. The Blight had robbed the world of green trees, and humanity was becoming just as sparse.

Sometimes he felt like she had no right to be upset, they had both lost so much; but she had less blood on her hands. She could still walk through the gates of Heaven and claim maternal insanity.

But the Devil himself was waiting for Peter. He had a special room in Hell right next to the son of a bitch that was his father.

Three times he had been forced to kill his own child. It didn't seem fair in a way since she had only been responsible for one.

XxX

**Five Years Earlier**

_It was the smell that hit him initially. _

_He had come home early that day. Olivia had seemed a little less okay than usual as he dressed for work that morning. She had not been sleeping, and neither had Jenny. The baby's bassinet seemed ominous on Olivia's side of the bed. Olivia was a frail statue hunched over into the act of breastfeeding. His kiss goodbye was met with a sullen frown. He worried about her, but he also worried about the world his daughter would grow up in._

_Later, it would sicken him to recall the growling in his stomach as he assumed that Olivia had made a succulent roast for dinner. The smell of cooked flesh sent him for the stove. Peter even whistled a happy tune as he considered the joy of his wife coming out of her post-partum funk. Olivia's depression had left an indelible mark upon his work. He loved her, but in the spaces between work life and home life, there were small spans of a hatred that made him to admit to. _

_But the stove in the well-stocked kitchen was ice cold._

_And the smell wasn't coming from the kitchen._

"_Liv?" Peter asked the quiet house. "Livvy?" the question became more instant as he plowed through the hallway that lead to the tiny nursery. The nursery that had once been his home office. The nursery where he and Olivia had laughingly painted little flowers delicately around the border of the room. The nursery where Peter had tried to put a crib together, only to leave the room in frustration, returning an hour later to find his then pregnant wife had expertly assembled their daughter's first bed. The nursery that now seemed to be ground zero for a mysterious smell._

"_Livvy?" he squeaked as he advanced upon the ajar door. His heart stopped at the scene in front of him. Olivia seated in the pink cushioned rocking chair, singing so softly he almost could not hear it. Her hair had small black marks at the now jagged ends. Olivia rocked the small form in her arms, swathed in a pale pink quilt she had made herself. He advanced upon her slowly, afraid of scaring his wife, but more afraid of what she was capable of. _

"_Livvy, let me take her ok?" he held his hands out to his wife. _

"_She wouldn't stop crying." She whispered to the baby._

_Peter nodded his ascension. Jenny had been dealing with colic with seemingly no end to the torment._

_Olivia seemed not to acknowledge his acceptance of her words. "She is such a good baby." Olivia leaned down to the form in her arms, nuzzling the blanketed baby as she continued, "I am so tired Peter." She cried._

"_I know Livvy, that's why I'm here. Let me take her ok?" he leaned into her space and grasped the baby firmly in his hands. Olivia released her limply and seemed to fall back into the chair._

_Peter held his daughter to his chest as he exited the room. Jenny made no sound, nor did she move in his hands. Once inside the bathroom, Peter began to unravel the blackened blanket from around the baby._

_Jenny was nothing more than a blob of burnt and charred flesh. Peter could make out tiny flecks of brightly colored cotton melted onto the body, and the remains of her binky that had been clipped to her sleeper._

XxX

**Present**

Peter Bishop began to feel that he was at a precipice. He decided that he wouldn't stop her this time. "Livvy," he murmured. "Just let it go."

She sniffled into his chest as he held her. "I can't lose another, but I won't carry this one either Peter. I killed her. I killed Jenny."

Peter smelled the smoke before he even realized that they were completely engulfed in flames.

"I love you Peter." She sighed.

"I love you too, Babe."

* * *

**COMING UP NEXT:** An alternate ending to chapter 9 of "Growing Up in the Dark", which features our Walter. Just dont expect things to end nicely. ;)


	8. He Can't Hurt Us Anymore

_**So…you guys like death, eh? I seemed to noticed judging by the response to ElleThom/Lilith's ficlet, so I'd though I'd take a stab at killing a major character in a gruesome fashion.**_

_**Have fun with this…**_

**Title:** "He Can't Hurt Us Anymore"

**Rated:** T or M (Depending on how well you can handle blood and gore)

**Summary:** Alternate darker take on the end of Chapter 9 of "Growing Up in the Dark"

**Characters: **Peter (9), Olivia (8), and Walter (not Dr. Walt, I mean our Walter)

**Warnings: **More disturbing death.

--------

The sun hadn't completely set but Walter being as anxious as he was wasn't going to wait any longer.

He wanted to leave this place and he wanted his son back now!

Quietly he crept towards the house hiding behind anything he could and checking for people. According to the tracker the two children he saw earlier in the fields had to be the only people around, and they were in the house.

This worked out great for him.

He finally approached the house and eyed the cracks in the wood. Nothing but the dark. The children must've been upstairs sound asleep.

This made Walter's mission even better.

The front door seemed nailed shut. The only way in or out was the hold near the bottom that only small children could easily fit through. Kicking the door down would only alert those inside. Walter would have to quietly pry it open.

With every sound that came as he pulled the wood, Walter cringed…until finally he heard a thud and the nails finally came lose. He had to be careful in case the board was loose enough for the entire door to fall as Walter snuck his way in.

The next hard part was getting through the house itself. Crawling on all fours up the stairs he was lucky that there was light coming from the loft. As one point he almost slipped but caught himself just in time. These stairs were old and very dangerous to trip over.

He arrived in the loft, eyes searching in the dark. There in the bed was one little blonde girl and one little boy…his son…his Peter curled up and fast asleep. It was so peaceful and wonderful he almost wanted to cry.

But he had no time to. He had to hurry before one of them woke.

He reached out a hand, closing his eyes and absorbing himself in the thought of embracing his Peter again.

"Mmphf."

Everything froze for Walter.

His poor little boy seemed to be shaking in his sleep. And then…

"Daddy…"

He was kicking his legs.

"No, daddy. Don't hurt me…"

The sight was breaking poor Walter's heart. The Peter he had lost never feared his own dad…

The Peter he lost never saw Walter as a sort-of monster.

And yet here Peter was kicking and screaming around in his nightmare of pain and torture he felt at the hands of his alter-self. This reality was truly hell in every aspect.

But now Walter had come to end it for Peter. He would bring him home to feel no more pain and suffering…only love.

He pulled out a rag and a bottle of chloroform to begin. He had to knock both the children out to avoid creating a ruckus.

But the little girl was slowly waking due to Peter's constant kicking and moaning. Peter was such a strong sleeper.

The little girl opened her eyes. They went wide at the sight of Walter…

And before she could even gasp, Walter quickly shoved the rag into her mouth. She had trouble and before she knew, she had closed her eyes and passed out.

The strange commotion caused Peter to stir until he finally looked and saw his friend with a rag stuffed in her mouth.

"Hey…"

Walter quickly covered his mouth and pulled him out of the bed.

"Ah!"

Peter had given the strange intruder's hand a small bite as he was trying to carry him away. "LET ME GO!!!!"

"It's alright, Peter," Walter said calming the frantic child. "I'm bringing you home."

"NO! You're not taking me back to that awful place! I wont let you!"

Fortunately, Peter's life in this reality had weakened him and he seemed helpless in his father's grasp.

"Oh Peter…"

Just as Walter was about to flee with Peter down the stairs, something was pulling him back by the arm.

"LET GO OF HIM!"

The girl had somehow gained consciousness again and was doing what her little frame could manage to keep Walter from escaping. But Peter panicked at the sight.

"No, Olivia! Run before he gets you too!"

Walter did not have time for this childish nonsense. He managed to use one leg to kick Olivia back…a little harder than he intended and Olivia fell back wincing in pain.

Needless to say, Peter was NOT happy at all about this. Soon he found himself clawing at Walter's face…yanking out patches of his hair. All the while, Walter endured the pain. He would do whatever it took, suffer whatever he had to, to get his son back. Nothing was painful to Walter compared to what Peter had to go in this reality.

Olivia felt so helpless…Dr. Walt was on his way toward making an escape…this monster who had ruined her and broken her…

He was taking away all she had left…

Something just snapped inside of Olivia. She wasn't going to put up with this anymore. Too many people died because of what Dr. Walt and Dr. Bell did to her and if she was meant to be a killer, then so be it…

Her ability was her only chance to save Peter.

So she was rather surprised when Walter suddenly froze and placed a hand at the sharp throbbing pain in his forehead.

He turned around. Olivia was eyeing him coldly and intensely.

Walter's eyes suddenly widened in fear. This little girl was doing something to him. And then all of the sudden, an eerie sense of familiarity began to haunt Walter.

Those eyes…he had seen those cold and terrified eyes before…

"Olive?"

She flinched at the unusual use of her name, but quickly ignored it and continued to focus on Walter.

The pain in his head increased and suddenly a red line appeared and blood was slowly dripping down.

Peter managed to squirm his way out of Walter's arms.

"Peter…" Walter said, as the bulge in his head got bigger. He tried to reach and arm out to his son but before he could, Peter charged into Walter shoving him down the stairs.

And so Walter fell. His whole body tumbling down like dead mass.

At the bottom all of Walter's limbs were broken. He looked up at his son. Peter and Olivia were at the top of the stairs looking down in both fear and anger at the man whom they believe became the nightmare in their lives.

"Oh…"

Finally the bulge in Walter's head exploded. His head suddenly vanished replaced with brain and blood splattered on the nearby walls and on the stairs. The rest of his blood began to flood around the floor beneath him.

For what seemed like hours Peter and Olivia stood looking over the mangled mess in silence.

"Is he…" Olivia whispered. "Is he…dead?"

Peter turned his eyes away from the man who had dared to call himself his father. "I hope so…"

Olivia had been shaking the whole time. As much as Dr. Walt well deserved it, she hated the fact that she had used her deadly ability again. But there was a glimmer of hope as now she could control it.

Perhaps no more innocent lives would have to be taken on her account ever again.

She felt Peter's hand take hers, a sense of calm and comfort. Despite what lied at the bottom of the stairs, the children felt a greater sense of freedom now. Peter finally had his revenge and in her own way, so did Olivia. They could live in peace now.

"It's all over," said Peter. "He can't hurt us anymore."

The two children hugged each other and went to bed in peace, knowing they will have to clean out the blood and bury the body in the morning.


	9. untitled

**Title:** untitled (I'll come up with one later if I can think of one)

**Rated:** T or M (I really dont know how to rate these anymore)

**Summary:** Peter makes a visit to confront some past demons

**Characters: **Peter and Olivia in their late teens/early 20s whatever, plus other characters

**Warnings: **Nothing just some sex mentioned and that be it. This is just some angst conversation btw, nothing too exciting.

--------

They had taken five Greyhounds to get here, and three metro buses, plus a foot trek through dozens of blocks within the massive suburbs.

Although weary and exhausted, they began to feel refreshed when they arrived at the apartment complex they were looking for. It was a nice middle class area, and it made Peter feel a little bit suspicious given the circumstances.

He really didn't want to do this. Yet they had nothing else to do, nowhere else to go…

…and he needed answers.

He could feel Olivia shaking as she held his hand.

Peter quickly remedied the situation. "He doesn't live here, you know."

"I know," she said. "But I'd rather wait outside."

He never liked the idea of leaving Olivia alone, not even for a second. It was surprising and almost risky that they had yet to encounter any WANTED posters in the area with their faces on them.

But then again, perhaps Olivia had the better idea. There could still be traces of Walter inside, and anything, even a photo of the man, could set off dangerous triggers that she would not be able to control.

Peter gave Olivia an assuring smile. "I understand." He gave her a kiss and left her to wait for him in the playground in the courtyard. She willingly volunteered to hold onto their bags, which such devotion to him.

"I'll make it short," he said. "I promise."

He headed towards the apartment door, taking a few pauses to turn back and look at Olivia.

When he arrived at the doorstep, he thought about taking his time and thinking over the situation, but it would only slow down what needed to be done.

It was better to just knock and get it over with.

Upon answering the door, Peter found the woman to be much shorter than him. All he could see was her curly brunette hair but he knew then, even after all these years, that it was _her_.

He couldn't look her in the eyes but he knew she was staring at him with such innate shock and fear.

"…Peter?"

He kept his eyes to the ground. "Yeah mom. It's me."

From the moment the woman touched him to the moment that she brought him into his arms, Peter felt nothing. Coldness seeped through his very skin.

"I never thought I'd see you again."

Peter was about to open his mouth when the woman said, "Come in."

Reluctantly Peter walked into the apartment and sure enough he saw a few older pictures of that man. And there were even a few pictures of his younger self, the once innocent normal being that he had long forgotten.

The silence was killing them both. She knew why Peter would go to such lengths to find her. She knew this would not be pleasant. "Do they know where you are?"

Peter looked away from her. "They spotted me a few years ago, upstate somewhere but I kept moving around since then."

"Good."

Before there could be more awkward silence, Peter spoke up. "Are we not going to speak of the elephant in the room here?"

"Peter, I didn't know…"

"Please tell me you're joking," he said coldly. "You drop me off there everyday that summer to be babysat, and then one night you decide to leave Massachusetts and not come back for me?"

"Peter, it wasn't…"

"It's exactly what it is! They came to see you, didn't they?"

The woman nodded. "William Bell came and informed me that you escaped. He told me that your father was found dead. Bell told me everything. I didn't know."

In his mind, Peter was thinking _'good riddance'_ to one of his former abusers. But it wasn't enough to make him feel better. "Enlighten me, _mother_. What _didn't_ you know?"

"What happened the day I dropped you off. It wasn't part of the plan…"

"What plan?"

"Walt…"

"Don't say his name."

"He said that he worked with children, who were abandoned or orphaned. That sometimes adoption agencies would come in. I thought I was doing the right thing by leaving you there. He said that they were coming the next day, and that you had first priority because you weren't like the others. Peter, I had no idea, he would do this."

Peter mouth dropped open at the revelation. "You really expect me to believe this bullsh*t?" But then another revelation struck him like a ton of bricks. "You really intended to leave me?"

"We were losing everything because of him. I was in deep debt. If I hadn't left when I did, I would've gone to jail and you would've been put in foster care. I had no idea he was running a child experimentation lab, Peter. I didn't know! I thought I was keeping you away from people like him!"

Peter didn't seem to care for the tears that were coming from his mother's eyes. The life he had to live, whether his mother intended it or not, had left him cold…very cold. "And here I was thinking you would be smarter than that."

She wiped the tears from her eyes. "I thank God you got out."

"Well I don't," said Peter. "Because you have no idea what I've been through since then."

His eyes kept turning towards the kitchen window. Apparently Elizabeth noticed and she looked up to see what she was looking at. Across the courtyard in the playground, she could see one of the neighbor's little girl building a sand castle in the sandbox. And sitting by her against the box was a young woman whose face she recognized right away. Elizabeth immediately turned white and began to back away.

"Peter…" Elizabeth pointed to the window. "It's her!"

Peter caught her trying to reach for the phone but Peter blocked her path and shoved the phone away.

"Don't you dare call them!"

"I have to, Peter. They told me about her. She's killed other children. She killed her own father. He came to save her and she killed him out of spite."

"That's not true!!! They lied to you!"

"I have to tell them, Peter. I don't have a choice."

"Don't talk to me about choices! I didn't chose to stay there and be their fucking lab rat and neither did Olivia."

Elizabeth froze. "You're…intimate with her?"

Her son said nothing.

"Peter, everyday I had to live with the guilt of my mistake…to take it all back and picked you up that day instead of leaving you there. But I have to tell them. William Bell…he'll find a trace that the two of you were looking for me, that you came here. He's too powerful."

"I've been through more than enough to not be afraid of him," said Peter.

His business was done here and his mother was right. She would call William Bell the moment he walked out that door and time would be short before he caught up to them. After all these years the man did not know when to quit.

Elizabeth watched his son trying to make a break for the door. "Where are you going now?"

Peter stopped and said, "I promised her I would take her to see the beach."

"Even with the war?"

Peter knew about the war but he didn't care. War wouldn't have made his life any worse or any better. And he knew that he and Olivia had triggered it all by escaping the lab. In just a short amount of time, a string of chain reactions occurred and cities were already now in the process of self-destruction.

And still…he didn't care that it was all his fault.

Elizabeth retrieved her purse from the coffee table and took out a wad of cash. Peter wasn't surprised but a bit bitter about the fact that she had money and could afford a little more ever since she had abandoned him.

"$2500. It's as much as I can give you without arousing suspicion."

Peter was shocked when she placed the cash in Peter's hands. "Do you remember our old beach house near Portland?"

"Just barely," Peter shrugged.

"It's still there. I never sold it. There's a military base near the area but the house has never been touched. Bell doesn't know about it, either."

Peter didn't give his mother's words any further thought. He didn't even turn to look at her as he finally grabbed hold of the doorknob and stepped out. A soft 'goodbye' trailed behind him.

To his relief, Olivia was still at the sandbox with the little girl. In a short matter of time, the child was able to make a tall and well-detailed sandcastle with numerous turrets. Olivia however was unable to do more than create tall lumpy piles of sand.

She was happy to see Peter but did not like the upset look on his face. "It didn't go well, did it?"

Peter shook his head. "No, it didn't."

"I'm sorry."

Peter picked up their bags. "We should go," he said in a calm matter. He didn't tell Olivia that his mother was likely on the phone with William Bell right now and that he would be here in a matter of hours.

...

They traveled for hours with no real destination. While Peter had the beach house in the back of his mind, the move was considered too risky. He used his newfound "wealth" and treated Olivia to an affordably decent dinner and then a motel room. It was far better than sleeping in the streets at night.

And they took full advantage of their privacy.

Just like it had been, Peter and Olivia came together in pure bliss. The feelings never ceased every time they touched. And their orgasms came in perfect unison. Their bodies were truly made for the other.

Perhaps it wasn't how normal more knowledgeable people would make love but neither of them cared. Even Olivia never knew what it was that they were doing. She enjoyed it too much, that she never thought to ask.

And Peter found this to be the one true upside of never having a family or becoming a normal member of society. Within the motel room, there were no rules to abide to and restraints to hold them back.

The best part of the night was when all was said and done. Peter loved hearing the short gasps of air Olivia made as she tried to breathe normally again. He wished the night would never end and that they could stay inside the motel and forget that Dr. Bell was hot on their trail.

The night made her feel much better, but Olivia was still bearing the guilt. She had been pushing for Peter to did what he did today and knowing that it didn't go so well only made her feel bad.

In the darkness, Olivia muttered "sorry".

"You didn't do anything wrong," said Peter. "I had to know what happened and why my mother did what she did. It wasn't pleasant but I got my answers."

"You still don't think it's a good idea for me to find my mom?"

"Olivia. It's not the same for you. Your mother, she abused you. She sold you to that place because she wanted to get rid of you. I'm sorry to put it in those words. But from what you said you remember, it sounds like she would drag you back to the lab if she ever saw you."

He could see how disappointed Olivia was. She was an emotionally fragile being who after all these years was never able to escape her traumatized child-like state. It wasn't as if Peter was any better though. He was still immature and stubborn, a lot more now that he knew why his mother left him in that terrible place.

"I have a baby sister."

Now Peter knew why Olivia kept talking about wanting to know her family. "It's not worth it, Liv. I might have gotten to see my mother, but she's not my family anymore. You're more family to me than anyone I've known."

Olivia giggled. "I'm not even related to you."

"Thank god, you aren't." Peter smiled and he kissed her. "And by family I was referring to the fact that you've been more a part of my life than anyone else…if not THE only part of my life."

"Oh?"

"And who knows," said Peter. "Maybe I know of a place where we can settle down and make a family of our very own."

"Really?" said Olivia. "But where are gonna find a mom and dad?"

Peter laughed. "That wasn't exactly what I had in mind."

Olivia sorta knew that wasn't what he meant. They were practically adults now and could manage living on their own. What she didn't know was that Peter was getting way ahead of himself. Surely if he wanted to have children all Peter had to do was to lose the condom. But all of these dreams were out of reach. There would be no normalcy, no peace, or means of settling down. They could be on the run forever.

A smile slowly crept on Peter's face. He had an idea though he had doubts it would even work. It never hurt to try. "There's someone I think we should do," he said.

...

Olivia didn't know what it was. They departed in the middle of the night and bussed their way through a few more cities. Peter kept closer watch over Olivia and any word on the street of the supposed hunt of the 'lab freaks'.

They found a town that was virtually deserted. Most of the people were asleep. Olivia was surprised when they walked together toward one of the unusually odd-shaped houses that she often saw.

"Peter, we could've stayed at the motel if you wanted to sleep."

Peter knocked on the door. "We're not here to sleep."

Finally someone let them in. The man assumed he was giving the pair sanctuary but it wasn't until he got a closer look at them that he began to feel a heart attack coming on.

"You know who we are, don't you?"

The man said to Peter. "You're the lab demons. The ones causing the destruction of our world. I can't have you here! Get out!"

Olivia was tugging at Peter's arm. "Peter, we should leave…"

"It's fine," he said. "Trust me." He then tried to assured the man in a relaxed voice, "we're not looking for trouble. You're a minister aren't you?"

"Well, yes…" The minister's suddenly went wide. "You two can't possibly be here to…"

"Like, I said," said Peter. "We're not looking for any trouble." He pulled out the cash from his pocket. "We can do this quick. And if you tell no one we were ever here, I just might make it worth your while."

Olivia remained confused the whole time. Peter was being unusually happy despite their current situation.

The minister took a while to prepare himself and when he came back he asked "do you have a ring?"

Peter did have one. But it was nothing fancy or elegant. It was a cheap steel ring from the motel gift shop that was only $4. He felt so disappointed with himself. "This wasn't how I expected eloping to be like," he said as he put the ring on Olivia's finger. "But this is my way of showing you that we're always gonna be a family, Olivia. Just you and me."

Olivia was on the verge of tears. She didn't have the dress or the actual ring for the occasion but she thought this moment couldn't be more beautiful. "I love this, Peter," she said. "I love this so much."

Much to their surprise, the minister decided not to take the bribe and just let them leave quietly after he pronounced them married. He had a change of heart after seeing how deeply the couple cared for one another. He could see now that they had humanity and that they were not the monsters of science that the government and the media portrayed them to be.

Peter and Olivia slipped out the back of the church, stepping back into the outside world. Their marriage was something that would never be on paper but it was sealed in the eyes of God.

It was a miracle to Peter that they pulled it off. Almost as if alas, God had triumphed over science and allowed Peter and Olivia, for one brief shining moment to live normal and humane lives.


	10. My Friend, the Observer

**Title: **My Friend the Observer

**Rated: **PG for the fact that we're in a post apocalyptic wasteland setting

**Summary:** dark-fluff (typical me) set during the time gap of "Back in the Dark Again", which I will assume most of you have read

**Characters: **Peter, Olivia, Robbie (I'm gonna say he's like 2 or 3 here) and oh yeah the Observer

**Warnings:** none (I know, right? No dead bodies or bloody gore or disturbing stuff! OMG Fantasy Cat what the hell is wrong with you? LOL)

If September were a real man, he would be a man of many regrets.

Ever since his meeting with Dr. Bishop, September felt remorse and concern for the man's boy…even it wasn't truly his son. But there truly was nothing he could do…he had no power to help Walter cross over, nor could he help Peter and Olivia return to him. Everyone was trapped in the circumstances they have landed themselves in.

And all September could do now was observe the two shadows that were treading cautiously through a barren wasteland.

Through his binoculars, he could see how tired and beaten they were. They walked as if they were limping not because they were hurt but because the darkness and the death that surrounded them was absorbing every ounce of will and energy they had left. Olivia could barely support herself. She had one arm cradling her womb where the future Bishop was resting, while her other grabbed onto Peter almost weighing him down. They both wore long heavy coats to endure the winds and cold temperatures.

September observed them stepping into abandoned towns, breaking into houses where residents were long dead, coming out with very little luck in finding the food they needed to survive out here.

It was something September could not see happen. He first began by leaving a fresh fruit basket by the couple as they slept. Probably not the best idea since a basket full of fresh food appearing magically in the middle of a Blight-stricken world was considered highly suspicious. Peter and Olivia spent a whole hour sniffing and licking at the food before their hunger and desperation finally took over and their concerns of the food being poisonous were soon forgotten.

In the future, September would instead keep track of the locations that Peter and Olivia would visit next and made sure to leave 2 or 3 packages of food and necessities for them to find. He made sure the food was healthy for the baby and nothing aging or rancid. September knew nothing about feeling good but he felt accomplished to see the couple's spirit slightly lift every time they found something.

He also didn't know what it was like to feel fear but he knew that Peter and Olivia were heavy with fear, not just of their surroundings…

He watched from binoculars and calculated every detail of the moment when Robert Bishop II came into the world. The fear in Peter and Olivia had been sensed once more, along with great despair. Robert was small and incredibly skinny. His ribs were visible through his skin. There was no guarantee that such a weak child would survive the upcoming freak winter.

So September went into action again. The shelter that the family was staying in was becoming more inadequate. Peter was often seen out in the snow finding food and sometimes working on a project of his own.

He was building an igloo, one that would give Olivia and his son a better chance at surviving. But the storm during this difficult winter made the project more and more difficult. Peter only managed to construct a few bricks a day. It wouldn't be enough in time.

As soon as Peter retreated for the night, September approached the igloo and began constructing a layer overnight. Unlike normal humans, observers like September were completely resistant to cold temperatures and storms. He was able to work quicker and more efficiently than the humans could in their weakened state.

The plan worked perfectly…so well in fact that the family didn't hesitate to take shelter once they saw the completed igloo for the first time.

September was not only their mysterious savior, he was their guide. Here and there, he created unusual traces…signs and distractions that would eventually lead the family to a familiar looking old cottage.

Even now as they were safely settled, September continued to watch the family struggle. But his central human of focus was Robbie, still as weak and skinny as he was when he was born.

Robbie would shyly peak out the cracks and windows of the house; his only allowed means of exploring the outside world. And it was shortly after he began taking his first steps when his small green eyes looked out the window and in the distance saw something his parents could not…

A strange bald man who stood watching the house relentlessly.

Since then Robbie became enamored with a strange mix of fear and curiosity.

Robbie never became a normal hyperactive toddler. The living conditions never allowed for it. He remained a quiet bystander often sensing the fear and sadness that often consumed his mother and father. It was only when Robbie would approach them or be in their company would gentle smiles emerge from their faces.

In his own little way, Robbie liked to think that he had a gift.

Eventually he got tired of being trapped inside the house all day. His dad was gone a lot looking for food. His mom was sick all the time and seemed to do nothing but sleep for all but a few hours of each day.

And he knew that the strange bald man was still out there watching them. He would look out the window and there he stood. The man's eyes seemed to pierce back at the boy's as if he was being summoned.

So Robbie waited for the perfect time, one when his dad was not around and his mom would be fast asleep. Robbie cautiously climbed out of bed daring to not wake the strange thing living inside his mom's belly. Although his mother assured Robbie that it was harmless and only temporary, it still felt very creepy to him.

He was getting better and better at climbing down the stairs on his own as long as he was careful and then he played with the hole at the bottom of the front door. He crawled through and found himself out in the in the strange and frightening new world.

But as he expected the strange bald man was out there to greet him.

"Hello, Robert."

The boy just stared at September with his mouth dumbly half opened. "Who are you?"

"Someone you shouldn't be talking to."

"Oh." Despite this, Robbie still stood there which made September all the more curious.

"You're not afraid of me?"

The boy shook his head. "Why do you watch us all the time?"

"Because the universe you live in is a desolate and dangerous place…" Reading the boy's mind, September did say "and yes, that is why your parents have been shielding you from it."

Oddly enough, Robbie understood the bald man's complex words. And in turn, September could sense a great fear and concern.

"What's wrong with my mommy?"

"She is very sick," the man said bluntly. He felt uneasy about answering the boy's next question…if his mother was going to die. Even he couldn't look that far into the future and be certain.

September then placed his hand into his pockets. "If you wish to help…" He pulled out an unusual green herb resembling a fern. "Give this to her. Have her eat it."

After having the unusual plant placed into his tiny hands, Robbie curiously looked at the green leaves. He had never seen green leaves before and found it very unusual. "And she'll get better, right?"

Robbie looked up to find the strange bald man was no longer there. The boy became afraid. Having been distracted by the company of his strange friend, Robbie didn't seem to take notice of how dark and cold his surroundings were until now. It was dark gray and almost unseeable.

He started to cry and look around. He almost wanted to call out for his mommy and daddy but then he did a complete 180 turn and saw the front door right there in front of him. Having stepped outside until this day, Robbie wasn't even sure it was even his house but there was a hole at the bottom.

He decided to take the risk and crawled in. Miraculously, Robbie was in a familiar looking living room once more. He felt relieved but now he understood why his parents never let him go outside the house before.

Still fascinated with the green leaves, Robbie began to stroke their unusual texture. He almost didn't hear someone coming through the front door.

Fortunately, it was his father, who was quite surprised to find his son downstairs and alone.

"Robbie?" He looked very worried. "What are you doing down here? You should be in bed."

Robbie struggled to find the right words because he knew his father was eyeing the plant in his hands. "Give…this to mommy?"

Peter sniffed the plant and a wave of painful familiar senses struck him. It smelled like the other side. And lately he had almost forgotten was plant life smelled or even looked like. "Where…" He stopped to think. There was no way Robbie couldn't have gotten this outside. For one thing, Peter was certain he forbade him to go out there and even Peter himself would've recognized it since he was rarely at home these days.

Perhaps it had been hidden among the mess and the squalor all along and Robbie just happened to stumble upon it. In that case, Peter would be more forgiving. He was just a child after all.

"Never mind." He opened the plastic bag containing the food he gathered from today's scavenging…some canned fruit and an unusual small package that Robbie had never seen before.

"What's that?" he asked.

"Something for your mother," Peter said smiling. "Today's a very special day for her."

Olivia was slowly stirring awake when she saw an unusual light enter the room. She almost didn't noticed Robbie's absence until he came running up to her bedside. She was confused, as she could've sworn Robbie was supposed to be napping with her.

Robbie presented the plant in his hands. "Eat?"

Olivia was surprised by her son's present. She thought of telling him it wouldn't be a good idea but the look in his eyes was telling her, for one reason or another, that he was really counting on her to eat this plant.

Carefully she sniffed it like Peter did and took a few small bites. To her surprise the plant was quite edible and had a strange tint of pepper.

She could've sworn the spicy taste reminded her of something.

After eating the plant whole, Peter arrived carrying a small plate with a yellowish substance topped with a thick-lit candle.

"I couldn't find a real birthday candle," Peter said.

Olivia recognized the familiar food the candle was resting in. She gave Peter a weak smile. "You know…I don't really like Twinkies."

Despite this, Olivia was happy. The only upside to being stuck in this other reality, was that the birthdays were better. There were no daunting cards or bitter memories to haunt her. She felt like for the first time in a very long time, she was celebrating her birthday like a normal person. Of course, she wouldn't be eating the Twinkie cake that was intended for her. She would give it to Robbie instead. It would likely be the only opportunity he had to enjoy something like this.

"Happy Birthday, Olivia," said Peter.

And although Robbie was too young to understand what birthdays were, he was happy to see his parents together and smiling. It was something he hadn't seen in a very long time.

He imitated his father, with smiles and all. "Happy Birthday, mommy!"


	11. Hansel & Gretel

**Title:** "Hansel & Gretel"

**Rating:** T for creepy violence

**Summary:** title speaks for itself

**Characters:** Peter (10), Olivia (8), I'll give you three guesses who plays "the witch" in this story

**Warnings:** we're back to the dark and creepy death stuff! W00T!

"We're lost."

"No we're not," Peter argued in a childish fashion. But Olivia was very good with remembering things and details and for several hours they had encountered nothing but unfamiliar trees and landscapes.

The children, out of pure boredom, thought it was a good day to explore deeper areas of the woods that hid them. A bad mistake on their part. Hunger and fear was slowly settling in though neither of them wanted to really admit it.

Originally they were gonna leave some cookie crumbs to help lead them back to the cottage should they get lost. But they had been too hungry to let the crumbs go to waste.

And soon Peter felt something tiny and moist on his nose. Olivia did too. The drizzle had begun and Peter and Olivia were already sniffing their noses. They would have no luck finding shelter this far from their 'home'.

Close by, Peter eyed a very climb-worthy tree.

"Wait here," he said. Of course Olivia didn't listen and followed Peter as he approached the tree. Realizing what he was doing, Olivia waited on the ground, as she was not an experienced climber.

Peter was careful not to climb too high. Amongst the endless miles of greenery, Peter spot and unusual splurge of white not very far away. Beyond it, was a large stone structure but Peter couldn't tell if it was a house or a cliff. He quickly climbed down. "I know where to go."

Olivia didn't believe Peter but she was better off following him. They had to hurry as the rain was coming down harder.

But then they came across a tall wall of greenery. Peter cautiously placed his arm through and pulled open the greenery. "In here." Needless to say going through the shrubbery was messy and painful, but once on the other side, Olivia could see why it was worth the mess.

They had clearly entered a large courtyard yet infront of the children was a large massive white garden tent. Peter peeked into the tent. No one was in the tent but it looked as though there had been a party of some kind. Tables and chairs had been scattered everywhere.

And on the table there was food! Uneaten cheese and delis, cakes, chocolates and even cooked chicken. Pretty much everything that Peter could've possibly dream of and everything Peter hadn't eaten in years. Without thinking, Peter hurried over to one of the tables and swiped the cookies that were there.

"Peter." Olivia immediately protested. "Someone will find us here!"

"I know," he said. "That's why I'm filling up right now. Gimme the bag."

Olivia gave him the backpack she had carried, knowing that Peter wasn't going to listen to reason. And he began stuffing as much food as he could into the bag.

"Hey!"

The children jumped in fright but it was too late. They were both grabbed a large man in a caterer uniform

"You children are in big trouble," said the man. "Ms. Sharp is not kind to people who trespass onto her property."

The man was very strong and he was able to carry one child in each arm even with all of their struggling. They were brought into the massive stone mansion on the property.

The children continued to put on a helpless fight as they began to squirm and whimper. They were taken upstairs to a very large and nice office room where an elegant lady with fierce red hair was waiting. Her face was indifferent. The children could not tell if she was angry or worse…

The woman dismissed the man who brought them and gave a warm and assuring smile.

"Come now, children. No need to be afraid," she said.

Olivia nervously asked "we're…we're not in trouble?"

"Of course not, dears. Children are like rabbits. Small and adorable but also have a nose for getting into places they shouldn't be. Still…I must wonder why you two would be so desperate as to sneak in here and swipe leftovers from my garden party."

Olivia didn't know what to say but Peter was determined not to say anything. He worried that the lady knew who they were, but he couldn't read anything on her face that confirmed that.

"Oh but look at you two." The lady approached Peter and grabbed his little cheeks. "You look so filthy and half-starved. Let Auntie Nina take you both to the kitchen and get you something to eat."

Peter and Olivia nervously followed Nina to the kitchen where they got to have chicken nuggets for the first time ever. The storm was raging badly outside but Nina was already five steps ahead. After she treated the children to ice cream sundaes, she had her servants give the children baths while she had the largest guest room in the house prepared for them.

The children were torn. A part of them did not want to stay and wanted to get back to their "home" as quickly as they could. At the same time, they couldn't help but enjoy the nice meal, the bath and all the other little delights that Nina was treating them to.

They got to share a bedroom that night and contemplate their situation. "What do you think is gonna happen?" Olivia asked Peter.

He was still trying to decide whether or not Auntie Nina was even trustworthy. "I dunno."

"She seems nice."

Peter silently agreed but given all of their hellish encounters with adults in the past, he knew that they both should be extra cautious.

But morning came and there were huge stacks of banana pancakes waiting for them. From there, Nina was giving them clothes to wear. "You two get to stay here as long as you like," she said.

It was a surprise neither child had expected. For days they felt bound to their situation as they were too scared to walk around the large mansion with all the adults around. They spent all their time, outside of meals, in their bedroom. Days would pass and what was once an empty bedroom was now filled with toys and empty bowls of ice cream. They even got a trampoline!

It was all too good to be true. They were no longer scraping and scavenging for food. Nor were they living in fear. They got to spend all their time playing and watching cartoons. They got to be kids and for Olivia it would be the first time.

They had been there a couple of weeks…the best weeks of their lives. Whatever suspicions the children first had of Nina seem to have disappeared with child-oriented temptations that Nina and her staff gave to them on a silver platter.

Olivia had woken up that morning looking forward to finishing the long and challenging game of Monopoly with Peter. But his bed was empty.

She checked the bathroom but Peter wasn't there. He must've gone down to the kitchen for an early breakfast.

She poked her head out into the hallway. She would have never taken such risks if she wasn't so desperate to find where Peter had gone off to. But the kitchen seemed like the obvious choice.

Just as she was about to head downstairs, she heard a noise the made her jump in fright. It was a strange loud tone, followed by beeping, follow by another series of tones. The noises were coming from a few doors down. She crept quietly to the door, which was opened slightly.

And then she heard an echo.

"Nina?"

The warbled voice of a man…the familiarity of the voice brought chills down Olivia's spine and sent her into convulsions.

"Yes, William…it's me."

"It's too early. What do you want?"

"I have the children."

There was a long stunned silence coming from the speakerphone. "The children? The ones who escaped?"

"Yes those children. And they've been having such a nice time here."

"Nina! How dare you keep this from me!"

"It was the only way I could earn their trust. Now, I think you and I have some negotiations to discuss."

"Yes. Anything!"

"I want complete ownership of the Westwood Facility."

"Absolutely not! We are making progress beyond that of any of your scientists! We'll settle this with cash."

"Don't insult my intelligence, William. Your money is no good to me…it may be worth at least one of the children. So inform me, which one would you prefer I dispose?

"Fine. You may do what you want with Bishop's boy. But we need the girl back. Name your price…"

A sudden crash. The phone call in Nina's office was dropped immediately as she went to the door. Out in the hall, she found Olivia in a completely frozen state surrounded by a knocked over stand and ceramic pieces of a broken vase.

Nina masked her anger with a smile. "Olivia, dear. Are you lost?"

She couldn't say anything.

"Why don't we get you dressed for the day?"

Nina was guiding her back to the bedroom and helped to find her a nice girly dress to wear. She then spent some time brushing Olivia's hair and braiding it. The silence was deadening and it was terrifying Olivia what would happen once she was done.

"There you go."

Olivia took a deep breath and finally broke her silence. "Where's…Peter?"

"Pardon me?"

She was feeling a bit more confident and demanding. "I wanna see Peter."

The smile that crept up on Nina's face was creepy and deceptive. "Peter is downstairs, sweetie."

In that waking moment, Olivia did not trust her. She dashed for the door before Nina had a chance to follow her and hurried down the stairs. She didn't know if she was being followed. The living room was too open. So Olivia went down a foreign hallway that seemed quiet enough. She needed a place to hide and spent several minutes opening doors until she found a closet.

She took deep breaths as she listened cautiously, waiting and fearing for her discovery. There was no way she felt she would be able to get out of this.

The only sound around was the faint thumping of unknown origin. Olivia poked her head out of the closet to listen. The thumping was coming from deeper down the hall where it was dark and dead silent. Nervously, she came out and traveled toward the source of the noise. She came around a corner and found a chair leaning against the door being jiggled around. The thumping was coming from the other side of the door.

There was another noise, one that sounded like whimpering.

Olivia pulled the chair away and the door flew open.

Peter was lying there on the closet floor with his wrists and ankles bound and his mouth taped. Olivia quickly went over to move the tape from his mouth.

"Peter! What's going on?"

Peter was taking deep breaths. He was now filled with as much fear as she was. "She's gonna send us back. We gotta get outta here!"

Olivia did her best to free Peter with her shaking hands. They were running out of time. Nina could be coming back for Peter any minute.

After Peter was freed, the two children went to find the nearest room with a window that they could get into. Luckily, they found an empty one and the two carefully crawled out through the window but found themselves in a very strange area of the estate. They were surrounded by a maze of large cages and steel barns. They had no idea what they were gonna encounter but Peter there only chance was to run.

"Come on."

He pulled Olivia through even though they were both really frightened. They turned a corner and saw a tall cage with a large bird creature. It screeched at them as they ran past it.

Unintentionally, they stumbled into one of the steel barns finding no other means of getting out. The building was filled with massive unusual steel machines. They quickly hid behind one of the machines as Nina entered the building not too soon.

"Children?"

Peter and Olivia kept silent. "I know you're in here."

There was a sudden clink behind one of the machines. It didn't matter who caused it. The children knew they would be caught now. Quietly Peter shoved Olivia back further and decided to make his presence known. Olivia thought he was being crazy but then she looked behind her and notice that it wasn't a dead end. He was giving her a chance to sneak out.

Nina flashed her flashlight on Peter as he came out from behind the machine. "Where is your friend, Peter?"

He didn't say anything.

"Do you know what kind of machine you're hiding behind? It's an atomic splitter, capable of ripping out every little cell in your body." She then turned on the machine, much to Peter's shock. The humming was soft but still disturbing.

"I don't want to do this, Peter. I would never harm a child if I can help it. But this has become a rather complex situation. There's still a chance for you if you tell me where Olivia is."

Unknown to her, Olivia quietly stepped out from the other side of the machine behind Nina but was not seen. Nina was focused on Peter as she reached for his arm. Olivia unexpectly found herself reacting and quickly ran over and pushed Nina away from Peter.

Nina fell back and tumbled into the atomic splitter.

The humming of the machine overpowered the horrid screams.

One minute the lady with the red hair was there…the next, she was gone.

The children stumbled their way out of the barn and eventually found the green hedge wall. From there, they started running, daring not to look back.

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**COMING UP NEXT: **A surprise treat for Mancha/Zeusfluff. Go back and read chapter 4 to prep yourself. I'll start writing it next week. _Fringe Fantasy Epic_ update tomorrow.


	12. Promise Fulfilled

**Mancha/Zeusfluff: **Here's you're little treat I bragged about giving you. Okay it's not much of a treat just an update for your pleasure (with no idea if you'll even like it or not). And I made it long for your enjoyment...heh really that's just how I write.

Anyway this chapter is unfortunatly the last "Movements" idea I've had in my head. That doesnt necessarily mean the fic is finished since this is a series of oneshots/ficlets. I just dont have anymore ideas...so no more Movements for now. Plus I need to devote my time to school, finishing _Fringe Fantasy Epic_ and starting on a novel project (that's actually original and not Fringe related, GASP!)

However I WILL UPDATE IF: people who are reading this want to contribute to my AU "In the Dark" series in any way. You may donate oneshots or short stories at your leisure via PM or my email address (see my profile). You get credit and it's all good. Thanks for reading though. Continue to enjoy my awesomeness with a lovely review. I miss reviews so much!

* * *

**Title:** Promise Fulfilled

**Rated:** T/M

**Summary:** This is a follow-up to Chapter 4 "That Happy Place". Takes place about (13-14 years later).So yeah you might wanna read that one first.

**Characters:** the usual though Peter and Olivia are in their early 20s

**Warnings:** back to the gorey violence and dark stuff (including abuse)

Under the guise of "Mr. Knight", Peter was on his way to face his nightmares. It took him over 13 years to get back here and it was likely to be all in vain.

But he would finally have his peace once this was all over.

Luckily, Mitchell Loeb had no idea that the man he was driving back to the ranch house was the same boy he used to beat and drive fear into all those years ago. But Peter was a man and no longer terrified of him. The perfect revenge would be for Peter to kill him then and there but he needed to keep his cover for as long as he could…

They arrived at their destination and Mr. Jones was there to greet them.

"Mr. Knight. A pleasure to meet you." Peter kept his cool as he shook the Jones's hand. A little more sternly than he intended or maybe he did intend it.

For a moment Jones gave him his casual look of suspicion. "Have we met before, Mr. Knight?"

"I'm afraid not," Peter said casually. "I've only been in the whole mob biz for about a year and a half."

"Well," chuckled Jones. "It's hard to imagine that Edward…or Big Eddie as you refer to him…would bring a boy to work for my team, but you came highly recommended. Shall we?"

He followed Jones into the house unable to catch his breath. He was nervous as hell. He didn't even know if he could possibly go in there. But then, he had spent his whole life working to come back here…this place had been in his dreams since he was 9 years old. But of all the events and people in his past, nothing haunted him more than the very thought of her.

In the beginning, he didn't want to forget her, but his foster family believed he was ill. And that this 'Olivia' he knew was a figment of his imagination. They did everything to make him forget and move on with his life. When nothing else worked, he started drinking at age 14, but he only began to 'see' her even more until he was filled with guilt and despair. School didn't serve its purpose anymore, and by age 15, he packed up his things and departed from normalcy to search for the one he had regretfully left behind so many years ago.

Those years of anguish and desperation paid off, but it had been too long now and it was very unlikely that she was still alive.

The house he remembered wasn't as rustic or worn down as it was before. Advanced renovations had been made over the years. The walls on the inside looked strong, almost made of steel. After first touring the living room, Peter was led down the hallway to the bedrooms.

One bedroom was transformed into an office, with shelves filled edge-to-edge with notebooks and BETA tapes. "This is where we hold all our records. There's at least a decade's worth of information in this room alone."

Peter pretended to be intrigued. "I'm surprise you were able to fit that much into one room with all the experiments you do on people."

Jones laughed. "People, you say? Oh no, Mr. Knight. Our attempts to retrieve other subjects over the years have failed. We've been working with the same subject for over 13 years."

The dreaded thoughts that went through Peter's head were quickly shoved away as he was led into the next room. In this room the windows had been boarded up and the walls were painted black. In the center of the room was an old dental chair and the shelves were stocked with tools and flasks of various chemicals.

Peter then asked, "So what's this room for?"

Mr. Jones coldly replied. "This is where we performed our tests on her."

The knot in Peter's stomach suddenly got tighter.

On their way back to the living room they passed by the kitchen and everything that Peter hoped and dreaded for had come true. Standing at the kitchen sink, was a small skinny girl. Her back was to him as she was busy washing dishes. All she wore was a gray and torn hospital gown. The back was covered by frizzy and unkempt strands of blonde hair that went all the way down to her waist.

He couldn't help but notice how frail and skinny her legs were. The dark spots were no doubt bruises. And then he saw it near her bare feet…the pink ankle bracelet. It was still there except now it seemed a small metal box was now attached to it. No doubt that it was their own electronic tag for her.

No doubt now, that this was Olivia.

Mr. Jones turned Peter back into the living room. "That is our special subject. She is the reason for our success."

"What exactly is my job here?" Peter asked.

"I've been losing several men on past missions, mostly due to their own lack of talents. I've heard nothing but good things about you Mr. Knight. You'll come in handy on our missions if Big Eddie's recommendation has truth. And the job pays well, which I'm sure pleases you…"

Peter's eyes caught sight of an unusual reflection in the mirror to the side of Mr. Jones. It was the blurred image of Olivia at the doorway to the living room and it look as though she was eyeing him, gazing at him like he was some sort of curiosity to her.

"Hey!"

Peter and Mr. Jones turned to the kitchen door. Olivia was there but now her back was to them as she rushed back into the kitchen. The men could both hear Loeb screaming. "What do you think you're doing? You know damn well you're not allowed in the living room!"

Mr. Jones got up and said "excuse me for a moment." He walked into the kitchen leaving Peter along in the living room. A second later there was a loud crash and the sounds of plates breaking and punching.

With each blow he heard, Peter had to fight every urge in his body to not go in there. But inside he was fuming and his fists were balled up.

He wanted to break his cover…but it was still too soon.

He then heard Mr. Jones's voice, "Take her back downstairs. We'll double her medication in the morning."

He finally returned to the living room and sighed as he sat back down "you'll have to forgive me. But you can see what trouble she has been to us."

Peter didn't know how much longer he could hold back the anger.

"That is why," said Mr. Jones. "...it will be your responsibility to watch her and to keep her in line when we go on our missions. It's not a very glamorous or dignified job but that is where I start out my new recruits. If you do well I can easily see you promoted to be a member of my leading team in a matter of months. Does that sound pleasing to you?"

Mr. Jones reached out his hand. Unable to look at him in the eye Peter reached out his own and agreed to the deal.

…

Later that day, Peter was sitting at the kitchen table tending a beer, unable to cope with the fact that behind where he sat, was the door leading to his former hellhole…the one that Olivia had still been kept in all this time.

Loeb approached him. "Could you check behind the stove, see if we caught any rats?"

"For what?" Peter asked.

"Just do it, kid."

Peter did what he was told much to the annoyance of being called "kid". Behind the stove, he found the corpse of a moderate-size rat. Judging by the rotting of the carcass, it had to have been dead for several days, perhaps a week even.

"What do I do with it?"

"Well isn't it obvious?" Loeb smirked. "It's time to feed the subject."

Peter was certain he was going to vomit. "You…you feed her rats?"

"Only on certain days…when she needs to be punished. I thought of this punishment myself about a decade ago. Most of the guys here found it quite humorous." Loeb took the rat from Peter and dumped it in a bowl. "There ya go. Take a flashlight with you and be quick about it."

Peter watched Loeb leave the kitchen, resisting the urge to grab Loeb and shove the dead rat he held down his throat, but instead headed to the basement door. On his way, Peter grabbed an orange from the fruit bowl and pocketed it and also got a wet rag.

He took in a deep breath as he approached the basement door. It felt like only yesterday that he was being dragged up and down these steps by Loeb himself. The journey down these steps was much more darker than he anticipated or remembered.

When he got to the bottom, he was confronted by an unusual change. The big room that he and Olivia used to sleep in was no longer there. Instead there was a steel wall with a secured door infront of him. Stored against the wall were piles of rustic tools and machinery.

Peter placed his thumb on the door's sensor and sure enough, a green light came on. He pulled the door opened.

It was pitch black in this room. He had to turn on the flashlight. The walls were moldy and the only piece of furniture in the room was an old metal bed but it was small, sized for a child.

He could hear noises, aside some the squeaking of rats and the dripping of the pipes, he could hear scuffling, coming from the opposite side of the bed.

He looked over and there she was, huddled in a corner. Peter placed the light on her and she recoiled like an animal frightened by the light.

The sight of her, made him gasp as he gazed upon her face for the first time. Her face was so pale but adorned with spots of black and blue and streaks of red. He could see a thick fresh cut on her forehead, the one she had just got in the kitchen earlier. Her eyes were blackened. It looked like she had aged by a hundred years. The only familiar feature he could see was her pupils. They were green but completely lifeless.

"Olivia?"

She said nothing, but she looked confused and frightened as Peter tried to approach her. It only made her curl up in her corner even deeper.

"Olivia, it's me…Peter. Don't you remember me?"

He took the rag and tried to reach the out to tend to the cut on her forehead. Olivia panicked and started thrashing her arms out at him, forcing Peter back against the bed.

Her fearful eyes lined themselves with the bowl with the dead rat, but Peter noticed and shoved the bowl away. "Forget about that," said Peter. He took out the orange from out of his pocket and unpeeled it. "Here."

Olivia looked at the unpeeled fruit blankly. "Come on, eat it." When she wouldn't budge, Peter placed the orange in her hand and waited until she finally took it to her lips and licked it. "Take a bite," he said.

Slowly but surely, Olivia began to nibble on the orange.

Peter grabbed a piece of paper that he found under the bed and picked up the orange peels with it and shoved them all back into his pocket. He had to leave the basement and get back upstairs quickly before anyone suspected anything.

But every step he took walking away from the frightened girl in the corner was killing him.

…

He was staying at the motel down the road but instead of hitting the bars like he often did, Peter spent his first full night in the room with bottle of tequila. He was only a third of the way through the bottle but was afraid he would need to go to the liquor store next door for some more. So he pulled everything out of his pockets hoping to gather enough change.

But then out came a crumpled piece of paper that he stored the orange peels in. Now that he wasn't in the dark anymore Peter curiously unrolled the piece of paper eyeing the unusual streaks of color.

The paper was aged and much of the image was smeared but he recognized the two stick figures in the picture…the ones he remembered of himself and Olivia.

Peter began to bawl his eyes out, and then took a few more swigs of the bottle. But it would do no good. It wouldn't erase the horrid memories of what he endured as a child or the hellish life that Olivia had spent locked up in that basement to be subjected to their twisted experiments, completely broken and void of any human dignity…knowing that Peter had taken to long to return to her...

Worse of all, it wouldn't be enough for Olivia to remember him.

…

For the next few days, there was nothing for Peter to do at the ranch house, except to assist with some of the technical jargons and help fix up the vans. Working in the barn with Loeb watching over him brought back cold shivers he hadn't felt in years. It made him angrier and bitter with him than he had ever been.

And it was still his job to bring food downstairs to Olivia. Aside from dead rats, it seemed Olivia would be fed scraps or any edible garbage. But Peter managed to sneak more decent food downstairs to her. And everytime, he made sure to take any evidence back up with him…just in case.

Still, he would've given anything for an extra minute or two to stay down there and comfort her…maybe even try to get her to remember. If Peter couldn't get her to remember him, at least in this way, he would be able to earn her trust. But time was always limited down there and he was forced to hurry back and mask the pain he felt before he was back on the ground floor.

After a week since coming here, it was time for Peter's first mission.

He was summoned to the laboratory by Jones where Olivia was lying down on the dental chair on her side. She was completely listless, as she surely had endured this hundreds of times before.

Peter's job was to hold her down while Olivia was being administered about five or six different injections. Most of them were drugs to intensify her Cortexiphan abilities. One was a hallucinogen and the last one was a tranquilizer.

With each shot Olivia was wincing deeper and deeper in pain that Jones and his assistants ignored. Peter was holding down her wrists, at least that what it seems. He attempted a firm but gentle squeeze of her hand and after a while, Olivia was miraculously calming down.

"Good job, Mr. Knight," Jones said as he was cleaning up. "We didn't need the restraints this time."

Quickly Peter had to go with Jones and prepare for their departure. He saw Olivia again in the van where she was still in her hospital gown and barefoot but his time she was shackled in both the wrists and the ankles. He dared to not look at her during the entire ride. Instead Peter focused on what was to come and what his options were as he fiddled with the newly attained gun in his hand.

It was risky and he would need to improvise. But Peter knew that tonight was the night…he was to going to break Olivia out.

…

An hour later, they arrived near a large science facility. Jones' men, lead by Loeb began taking their places near the facility, hiding in the bushes and such.

Jones then gave Peter a strange remote. "This controls the device in her ankle bracelet. The red button you may activate if she causes any trouble. Once her ability takes effect we won't have much time. You will get her out and meet us at the rendezvous point, so that we can complete our mission quickly."

Peter nodded and waited by the bushes alongside Jones while Olivia, who was freed from her shackles was forced to go in through the main doors by herself. Everyone was armed with guns so she knew what would happened if she didn't go where they told her to.

As soon as Olivia entered the lobby several security guards approached her apparently creeped out by this girl who just wandered in and aimed their guns at her.

Outside Jones turned to Peter, "turn the dial to maximum."

Peter got worried. "What does that do?"

"Do it before they shoot her!"

Peter slowly and nervously turned the dial on the remote until it reached maximum.

Inside, Olivia was shaking and closing her eyes while the security guards that surrounded her got massive headaches. Soon bulges began to appear as they fell writhing in pain. Olivia could only stand where she was and cry as she finally heard the bursts.

Peter watched in shock as he saw the blood splatter through the window.

"Go!" called Loeb. "We only got 3 minutes. Let's move!"

Jones and his men ran in through the entry doors and Peter followed remembering his incentive. He got to the lobby (while the others began heading toward the stairs) and saw the bloody corpses of the security guards. Much of the blood got on Olivia's hospital gown and legs. As soon as Peter knew that they were alone, he gently grabbed Olivia's arm.

"Hey."

He tried to be as calm as possible but Olivia startled at the touch.

"Don't be scared," he said. "I'm getting you outta here."

Olivia cooperated with Peter believing they were heading back to the van like normal. They got back outside and saw only a few of Jones's men by the cars and by the doors playing lookout. Peter continued to slowly walk holding Olivia's arm…making it look like they were heading back to the van.

Then Peter eyed Jones' black car parked nearby. There were two lookouts waiting over at the van so when Peter swung Olivia in the direction of Jones' car, he knew that he would have to act fast.

"HEY!"

Peter turned aiming his gun at the lookouts and fired clear shots in the head.

He moved faster now as he shoved Olivia into the passenger seat of the car and with shaking hands went to work on hot wiring.

Another lookout near the facility entrance heard the gunshots and saw what was happening and he alerted everyone on his headset. "Men down outside! Knight's taking off with the subject!"

Inside, the men were forced to drop their lab heist and run back outside.

Olivia could only sit and stare at Peter while he struggled with the wires. Just as Loeb and Jones came out of the building Peter finally got the car running. And he drove like mad.

Loeb fired several shots at the car as it sped off. Peter quickly shoved Olivia's head down as the gunfire struck the car.

Peter pushed on the gas even harder. Jones and his men weren't gonna be far behind.

Eventually, it started to rain. Peter and Olivia didn't know where they were and abandoned the car as soon as they were unable to drive any further. Peter pulled Olivia through the muddy rainy forest until they found a cramped cave.

Olivia had curled herself up in a muddy ball of a mess. Peter took off his damp jacket.

"Olivia…let me."

Peter tugged at Olivia's hospital gown and just as he expected, the thing completely fell apart, due to all the wear and weather exposure. Olivia was still muddy even as she shivered there wearing nothing but a pair of worn panties. Peter almost could not stomach the dreadful sight of Olivia's bare body. There were far more scars that deepened and unhealing bruises on here that he tried to deny...and even puncture and in some areas, he saw numbers that were branded on her as if she was more of an animal than a human.

If there was any sense of justice he would've had Jones and all of his men killed before they got away. Peter was seriously regretting that now.

He quickly took off his dry undershirt and struggled to get it over Olivia. She was fighting with him a bit, unable to understand his true intentions, Peter finally won out. Olivia was so small the shirt reached down to her knees.

"That better?"

She said nothing.

Peter then worked on removing the ankle bracelet with a few of the tools he managed to steal. He felt a sense of relief and a need to burn the thing once the material finally came off of Olivia.

The downpour lessened and Peter and Olivia kept traveling until they started seeing signs of civilization again and Peter checked them into the first motel they could find.

Once they got into the room, Peter led Olivia to the bathtub. She seemed to be trusting him now and did not struggle with him as he cleaned her up. Afterward, he wrapped her up with every warm blanket in the room and let her sleep in the bed, leaving one light on so she wouldn't be scared.

Peter sat by the window the entire night, kept awake by paranoia and fear as he kept the gun by his lap. But so many times throughout the night, he couldn't help but look back at Olivia knowing that she must not have had a more peaceful sleep in years.

…

It was almost morning, and Peter had to figure out a new course of action. They couldn't stay very long, but he wanted Olivia to give some time to adjust to her new surroundings. He managed to sneak out for an hour and returned with clothes and food for her. She was staring back at him with fear and confusion.

And in a bold move, Peter sat by the bed close to her as he could get.

"You really don't remember me at all?"

Olivia did not give any implication of either. She only kept staring at him. And it bothered Peter how Olivia hadn't spoken a word since he saw her again. He couldn't even think about what they've done to her to make this mute.

"I remember being in that basement one day with you and then I blacked out. The next thing I knew I was lying on the street in the middle of nowhere. Ever since I was found, I've been so…empty." Peter's eyes began to water. "No one believed me. They didn't even care what happened to me back then. And for a while I almost…Oh god, Olivia. I'm so sorry. I did everything I could to find you."

Lost in his own tears, Peter felt Olivia reaching out a hand to him in silent sympathy. He gave her a sad smile and then pulled out the crumpled piece of paper from his pocket. "Sorry I took this," he said giving it back to her. "I didn't know."

Olivia looked at colored drawing curiously. Fingers traced over one of the smeared stick figures with a bushy top of brown hair.

She stared at Peter for a very long time. She pressed her lips together and the word came out almost inaudibly.

"…you?"

Peter felt a great sense of realization as saw Olivia's hand never leaving the drawing. She did remember him.

And then he began to cry tears of joy. The empty void he had felt for years was gone. Peter had been grateful to have never been a normal child, because it allowed him to relate to Olivia in her broken state. He didn't want to know anymore than he knew about what happened to her all these years. He didn't need to. Slowly but surely Peter would find a way to bring back into the world. That's when he remembered the promise he made to her all those years ago…the promise to take to that "happy place" they drew. The life that returned to her eyes showed that she had remembered it, too. Now Peter could finally fulfill that promise. He would find a way to sneak her into Canada, free from all the science and abuse.

Peter was finally finding peace with his life since he was 9 years old. His soul had become whole again.

"Yeah…," he smiled. "Me."


	13. untitled RATED M

**Title: **another untitled

**Rated: M** hard M

**Summary:** Alternate setting where Peter and Olivia never met or escaped from Westwood. (The plot was actually based on a fic from another fandom that I liked.)

**Characters:** Peter (15), Olivia (13), Dr. Walt, Dr. Bell

**WARNING BEFORE READING: ****This is seriously without a doubt the darkest chapter of Movements I have done yet (as Zeusfluff can testify from the preview I showed her), and I'm very hesitant about posting this so if you fear you cant deal with a story that deals with graphic sex and kid death, this wont be a good read for you. That's my warning.**

* * *

"Happy Birthday, son."

His father was speaking to him in the same tone he did on his 10th birthday when Peter was freed from his ghastly cell to be placed in a new kind of prison. It was on the far side of the campus where most of the scientists bunked and Peter was given his own bedroom…about the size of a regular prison cell. To his surprise it had everything, a comfy bed, a TV with video games, and even a private bathroom. But it was all meant to ensure that it kept him in and kept him sane until he was needed. His only view of the outside world was barred and entry to his room could only be made from outside with a slot for receiving meals.

Yet he was still an experiment to them, only he wasn't taken out as much as he used to be and the torture and pain was less. Either Peter was favored for being Dr. Walt's son or he was considered successfully broken and was being rewarded for it…

Because what Peter did learn was that he knew a way to sneak out of his room…he just lost the will to leave it.

And now here was his father invading the 10x12 world he had placed him in to give him his menial task.

"I do have a special assignment for you but since it is also you 15th birthday, you can consider it both an assignment and a gift. I trust you know all about the birds and the bees?"

Peter said nothing but his eyes widened giving away his knowledge of the meaning behind the man's words.

"So you do…this should make this much easier. You know, it is more than a rite of passage. It's a gift of self worth and confidence to willingly give away your virginity at your age. And I believe I found the perfect match for you. You might even find her to be quite pretty."

His fists balled in anger, Peter glared at Dr. Walt searching for the right words. He rarely every spoke to his father but he needed some answers. "What do you want from me?"

It was a stupid question his father basically hinted to him with a casual evil smirk what he wanted. "We are working on a new project to see if children who have experimentation in their genes are more superior, but that requires the need for more subjects who fit the criteria. We can't afford any errors so it must be done naturally. And we are pairing you with our best. You should feel privileged."

Peter could feel his stomach churn. Oh god, it's a breeding project.

He was given little time to steam off all the anger from learning what he would need to do. Hours after his father left, the door to his room opened again. Instead of seeing his father, he saw a young scraggly girl with long messy blonde hair being shoved in and the door quickly shut behind her.

For the longest and most painful time Peter stared at the girl in his room. He honestly didn't know how to start this. He would give anything to not have to do this at all.

"What's your name?" He blurted out nervously.

"I'm…Subject O…Olivia." She barely muttered that under her shaking breath.

"Did they…," Peter gulped. "Did they tell you what we'd have to do?"

She shook her head. "They said I have to do everything you tell me, or they'll…"

Peter almost couldn't contain the anger that was building within. These doctors were twisted and sick but they were in complete control, and he knew that they would not be given much time. This was the day she would be ovulating and if they didn't do this by the end of the night, they would both be severely punished.

Cautiously, he placed a hand on Olivia's back and led her to the bed. They sat on the bed for a while as Peter tried to pull himself together. Delaying was hopeless but he was still doing so even as their first hour together drew near.

Olivia finally spoke to Peter. "It's going to hurt, isn't it?"

He knew then that there was no way he could lie to her. "Yeah…it will." Feeling defeated, Peter started to take off his clothes and to his surprise Olivia did the same believing that she had to follow suit. His mind tried to shut off everything once they were both naked. He then hovered over Olivia motioning her to lie down on his bed.

A hand was on her arm and he could feel the tenseness in her body all the way down to her legs. He tried caressing her arm in hopes of calming her down.

"It wont hurt as much if you relax yourself," he said.

But Olivia was still painfully nervous, and didn't trust his words. "Are you sure?"

Peter's face gave away his insecurity. "It might help. Just try and calm down."

He gave a moment for Olivia to collect herself. She took a few deep breaths and then tried to rest her entire self. Peter then traced his hand down to her side around the hip until he was between her legs. He didn't want to hurt her. He was willing to do what it would take to limit her pain.

To Olivia's surprise, she was greeted with this unusual sensual feeling between her legs where Peter was touching her. She was gasping for air it seemed. She couldn't tell if this was meant to hurt her or not, but somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew that it was better to let him keep going and not stop. Olivia continued to lie perfectly still and soon she started to moan.

And Peter couldn't resist his hormones getting the best of him during this difficult time. He was getting quite aroused and was close to bursting.

Soon Olivia gave a huge gasp and began to shudder. Peter's fingers were soaked. He could only helped that prepping Olivia would help.

He whispered, "relax" to her one more time before finally making his entrance. She gave out an upsetting moan that was tearing Peter apart on the inside but it was too late, he had to keep going and contain his emotions.

She was tight that it gave Peter immense unintended pleasure. After a few slow thrusts, Olivia finally started to relax herself and soon Peter was right. By letting her body go and letting Peter do what he would have to do, it didn't hurt so much. And soon Olivia was moaning again like she before when Peter was touching her. This wouldn't be so bad…not even as Peter went faster. Soon they were losing themselves and Peter grasp Olivia's body so tightly, clutching her as he went.

There was an eerie moment of silence when he climaxed. Spilling into her, Peter's bliss was finally gone and it transformed into horrid feelings of guilt, as he was reminded of why he had to remain inside of her as long as possible. Unexpectedly his eyes began to water as he leaned his face into Olivia's long strands…and started sobbing.

Reluctantly, Olivia wrapped her arms around him and began to cry too. She knew this wasn't his fault. They were both prisoners here.

A few hours later Peter and Olivia barely got dressed before the scientists came and dragged Olivia away from him. The emptiness of her presence had struck Peter hard and he was completely losing it.

It may have been a few days…or maybe a week later…he didn't know…when his father came to visit him again, a snide victorious smile swept across his face.

"Congratulations, Peter. It looks like you're going to be a father…not in a way that society would approve that but it should be of no concern to you once the babies are born. Your part in the project is done for now."

If his situation weren't so hopeless, Peter would've been quick to jump at his father and tear him asunder.

"Don't be so down," said Dr. Walt. "If the birth is successful I predict that you and Subject O will be spending a lot more time together…perhaps a night every nine months."

He shut the door on Peter then and no longer able to contain himself, Peter just lied there and wept on his bed like he never did before.

…

Peter didn't think to keep track of time since his encounter with Olivia and now he was seriously regretting it. Judging by the leaves of the trees outside, he's thinking maybe 6 or 7 months have past but he's not sure.

In the meanwhile, he continued to have nightmares and visions of Olivia that were causing him to burst at the seams. He was more worried about her than he was about himself. What if something goes wrong? What if she failed to give them what they want?

The trick to getting out of his room, as Peter had learned on his own, was by sliding his arm through the food slot. It was the perfect means of escape yet Peter had no interest in escaping. He just wanted to see Olivia again.

He didn't know what time it was but he was sure that he picked the right time to slip out of his room, the halls were dark and empty and there were no guards in his area as he began to tip toe down the hall, narrowly avoiding the security cameras.

Through every door window he came across, Peter would take a peek until he eventually came across some medical rooms. Not the twisted types that were used to experiment on children but typical normal and even comforting hospital rooms. It was in only one of these rooms where he could hear machines running and could see the shadow of a being lying in the bed.

Peter slipped in and could hear the beating of the heart monitor and another low and strange beat. That's when he caught sight of the ultrasound. For the longest time, Peter stared in wonder at the screen trying to make out the movement. It creeped him out when he saw what appeared to be two small bodies with heads.

Suddenly, there was a strange moan that nearly made Peter jump. The occupant in the bed was moving about and as Peter got closer he could see in the darkness that it was Olivia struggling to find comfort in her bed with her swollen stomach and all the wires that were attached to her body keeping her near immobile. He couldn't believe how big her stomach was in conjunction with the rest of her small frame.

Olivia opened her eyes and gave a whimper. She knew someone was in the room with her but she couldn't well see who it was.

"Olivia?" Peter reached over to hold her hand. "Olivia, don't be scared it's me."

To his surprise, a small smile crept up on her face. She recognized the voice. "Hi."

"Hi," he said nervously. "How are you doing? Are you okay?"

"I hurt alot…" she said. "…everywhere."

"Yeah, well…having babies will do that." Quickly Peter began to reanalyze what he just said. Perhaps humor was not the best approach to their current situation. She didn't seem to respond to him for a while until she said, "I'm scared."

"Me too," he said and he meant it. He knew that the doctors were expecting her to carry to full term but at her age with her small and frail body type, Peter couldn't see how she could give birth to even one baby and survive.

His thoughts were quickly disrupted by a loud beeping coming from somewhere within the room and instantly, Olivia began to wince and moan in pain. With each second that passed the pain intensified.

"They're coming," she moaned.

"Olivia?"

"Hide! They're coming!"

And that's when Peter realized that Olivia wasn't just referring to the babies. Soon the lights in the hallway came on and Peter could hear footsteps. Looking around, he saw a series of cabinets in the far corner of the room. He opened the door to the farthest one, which was dusty and empty and hid himself inside. With the door left slightly opened, he could see several doctors rushed into the room and the lights coming on. Among these doctors were his father and Dr. Bell.

"It's too soon," said Dr. Bell. "But we don't have a choice."

The doctors were crowding all around Olivia's bed so Peter was unable to see anything. But he could hear the noises over stimulating him: the rapid beeping, the doctors throwing commands at each other, but worst was hearing Olivia crying in pain.

"Push now!"

Olivia's cries of pain intensified. Moments later came the wailing of an infant. It wasn't long before Olivia began to cry again and a second wailing began adding to the first.

Peter could see two of the doctors each carrying something in their arms over to another table. Dr. Bell and Dr. Walt were looking down at the table and seemed very displeased.

"I warned you about the fertility drugs!" bellowed Dr. Walt. "This was supposed to be 100% natural and any interference could risk deformities!"

"Check their DNA," said Bell. "The damage could be the fault of the subject."

For many more minutes there was a lot of commotion between all the doctors in the room. They were moving around so much that Peter could only see flashing shadows.

"We did find something," said one of the doctors said.

"Genetic imparity then," Dr. Bell growled. "How do we know it is not because of your son?"

"My son has been checked for everything," argued Dr. Walt. "We did all the tests on him before the project even began!"

Peter knew this to be true.

"They'll be of no use to us then."

Dr. Bell had gotten out a strange tool that looked like a medical needle but was shaped like a gun only the barrel consisted of a thin hollow tube almost like a needle. He then turned back to the table.

And soon an eerie silence came over the room. The two infant cries that had been deafening Peter's ears had completely vanished. He thought he had gone deaf but the beeping of the machines still went on and there was scuffling in the room.

"Dispose of them."

Some of the doctors had left the room taking what was on the table with them.

Peter remained in his hiding place, almost catatonic to the realization of what the doctors had just done. He could not see Olivia but he could hear and eerie silence coming from her bed.

He became stunned when Dr. Bell pulled something else from his pocket…a real handgun, to which he applied a silencer.

In a split second, Peter knew what was going to happen and the fury within him intensified. He thought they had gone too far by forcing him and Olivia to do what they did. But then to treat their lives…their offspring…as disposable?

Enough had been enough.

The moment the bastard aimed his gun at Olivia, Peter burst out from the cabinet and charged straight for him. The commotion allowed Peter to attack without being held back and Dr. Bell waved his arm causing the gun to off…hitting one of the doctors. The gun was wrestled out of his hands and Peter was quick to grab it.

He knew there was no time or room for error. Revenge drove him to shoot every doctor in the room mercilessly before they had a chance to fight back. It was only a matter of bloody vicious seconds until Dr. Walt and Dr. Bell became the only ones left.

But Dr. Bell remained unconscious and unmoving on the floor. Dr. Walt moved back against the wall remaining stern. In fact, Dr. Walt smirked as he looked at the pathetic stance of his son, trying to hold that gun without shaking. "You wouldn't think to kill your own father would you? Not after everything I have done for -"

He didn't bother waiting for the man to finish and put a bullet straight into his own head. Behind him, he saw Olivia covering her head with her arms and lying on her side in an attempt to protect herself during his rampage.

"Olivia, come on."

After pulling all the wirings off of her, Peter pulled her out of the bed and got her on her feet. She was giving no time to grieve or even analyze her situation much to Peter's guilt.

"I hate to do this," said Peter. "But you gotta run with me. You have to keep up, okay?" Olivia barely heard his commands. She was staring down in terror at all of the dead bodies on the floor. So Peter had to pull arm around his shoulders for support and forced her to move. It was painful and it was difficult after that excruciating birth. But with the alarms going off and the guards in pursuit, every second was precious.

They knew they had no chance making down the main hall as soldiers and doctors were swarming in their direction. But the other end was a dead end with the exception of the stairway. Peter and Olivia ran in this direction and in a bold move, Peter pulled Olivia up the stairs to the roof.

Deep down, Peter knew that the end was inevitable. Olivia was leaving a small trail of blood along their struggle up the stairs yet still they continued forward.

When Peter opened the door at the very top of the stairs, he was blasted with the night air. Still he fought his way through, pulling Olivia with him until they got to the ledge.

He could tell by the glimmer that there was only water at the bottom.

"That is not water."

Bell had appeared limped towards the pair. "That is a toxic substance that we filled the surrounding area with, to give the illusion of water. Even if you can swim, the toxins will seep into your body and poison you in seconds."

Peter pulled out the gun he had carried. In his reckless rampage, he did not conserve any bullets…and now he had none.

"Subject O, you disappoint me," said Dr. Bell. "You used to be so obedient. But now I must put you in a rather difficult position."

To Olivia's horror, Dr. Bell had pulled out a small remote. And soon she could feel a strange wave within her. A second later, Peter began to have a really bad headache until his head was literally pulsing.

Olivia screamed.

Peter fell to the ground unable to control the headache.

"NO! NO! PLEASE!"

Olivia kneeled down by Peter screaming at Bell…begging him to stop.

"Walk back towards me, Subject O and he will live. You don't have much time."

But before she could make a choice, a hand gently grabbed hold of her wrist. Peter looked up at her fighting the pain all he could. "He'll kill you anyway," he groaned. "You know that."

She cried even harder in agreement.

Peter then pulled himself up placing arm around Olivia's hip. On instinct they both turned their eyes to the ledge.

And Peter, giving the devil that stood by one last cold look, threw himself and Olivia over…

He held onto her the whole way down…

Dr. Bell hurried over and looked out over the ledge. Soldiers made their way to the rooftop. But he quickly dismissed them.

There was nothing to stop anymore.


	14. Six Christmases

**Title: **Six Christmases

**Rated: PG **(family fluff with angst and one sex scene)

**Summary:** 6 Christmases that Peter and Olivia spent in the Alter World during the "Back in the Dark Again" storyline and their first Christmas back in our world after the story ends.

**Characters:** Peter, Olivia, Robbie, Anna, Walter

* * *

Peter wished he had made his calendar sooner.

It wasn't until he was able to converse with survivors at the camp when he was able to get a handle on time…on how long he and Olivia had been trapped in this nightmare world.

That's when he learned that they had miss Christmas…by many months.

* * *

The second Christmas might as well have not been one at all.

Olivia still would not talk about the baby, almost as if she was not acknowledging it. She barely moved a muscle when Peter left her alone to do their daily scavenging. They had reached the point where Olivia could no longer move with what very little food and energy they had.

"Hey."

Olivia looked up and watched Peter squeeze through the sunroof of an old van that became their camp. Along with him, Peter had brought a large duffel bag that he was barely able to squeeze through.

Olivia noticed the nice green bow wrapped along the bag handles. "Christmas, huh?"

"Yeah." Peter placed the bag by Olivia's side. "I don't want you to…you know, feel offended by my gift. It's just something I thought you might need…just in case."

Olivia barely managed to pull herself up in order to reach for the zipper.

The duffle bag had been filled to the brim with baby clothes, baby blankets, packs of diapers and even a few stuff animals. Olivia's response seemed blank and the first thing that came to Peter's mind was 'oh great'.

"Peter…" The faint presence of a smile appeared…the rarest most beautiful thing he had ever seen in this reality. "Thank you." She sighed. "You know, if I was in good shape to go scavenging, I would've gotten you something."

Peter pulled her close and kissed her gently.

"I already have everything I wanted…" He said caressing her belly. "…and more."

* * *

"This isn't like him."

Olivia became irritated with Peter. Way to state the obvious while their infant son was in pain. "He's hungry."

"Then why don't you…"

"I'm dry, Peter!"

Robbie's weak and unusual wailing continued. There was no way to determine how much time he had left. He was already a soft skinned bag of bones, and the only miracle was that he remained alive this long in his malnourished state.

Olivia saw Peter getting up to leave the abandoned department store. The weather was horrid and she couldn't bare to lose him either. "Peter, he's already too weak. There's no point."

"Do NOT talk like that Olivia. Now's not the time to give up…not on him."

"But Peter…"

But Peter ignored Olivia and angrily stormed out.

Braving the extreme winds and the icy temperatures. He didn't care what it took. But with every moment that past, as he searched every space he could for food, he wanted to pound his fist into anything to relieve the frustration.

He didn't know how many hours he had been out. But he wasn't going to turn back…not until he got what he came for.

Yet as more hours past, Peter became exhausted and he collapsed while in one house. He collapsed on the floor of a kitchen and just cried.

He could see the door to the pantry slightly creak open from standing there for ages. He could see a few cans and boxes but feared nothing would be useful.

Olivia had spent the whole day crying. She could tell that Robbie wasn't getting any better and it wouldn't be long now. But then the door flew open and Peter fell and collapsed, all white and freezing. Olivia panicked and rushed over to him.

Peter shoved the plastic bag he had towards her and out came two good cans of evaporated milk. "This is all I could find." Peter said shaking. "Is there a way to give it to him?"

"Peter…you're freezing!"

"Well?"

Olivia grabbed the cans. "We just need to add water and heat it up. But you need to get warm now!"

Olivia used all of weak strength to pull Peter close to their trash can fire and quickly got out more blankets and burnable things to make their camp warmer. She started rubbing his face.

"Don't worry about me," he said. "Robbie needs to eat."

Peter was right but Olivia became too worried about Peter's health that she almost spilled the milk as she hurried to heat it up over the fire. While it was cooling down, Olivia focused her efforts on warming Peter who was still feeling icy cold.

"Is he gonna be okay?"

Peter was unaware that he had passed out but Olivia managed to keep Peter awake and warm to the best of her ability. "He's gonna be fine. I'm sure he wasn't big on the tase but he was hungry enough." She pulled him even closer and brought Robbie onto Peter's lap to help him get even warmed. "Now don't ever scare me like that ever again."

Peter smiled "yeah, Merry Christmas to you, too. Sweetheart."

* * *

Neither one of them have had alcohol in a very long time. They couldn't help it if the bottle was opened and emptied in less than an hour.

It couldn't be helped that neither one of them have had sex in a while either.

It didn't matter if it was below freezing outside. They were both naked but this time around, Olivia was the one on top of Peter, riding him like a wild beast on the worn out couch. Peter never wanted it to stop. The pleasure he felt was beyond his wildest fantasies. But Olivia eventually stopped to take a breath.

"We," she whispered. "We have to stop. We'll wake him up."

Peter smiled. "Are you kidding? Robbie can sleep through anything. Besides…" He said kissing her. "We've only just begun our gift exchange. It's too soon to stop."

"Okay," Olivia smirked. She then leaned in closer to Peter and the heat between them intensified. After nibbling his ear, she whispered to him "but now it's your turn to be on top."

* * *

Robbie froze halfway down the stairs as soon as the yelling began and didn't move since.

"You don't understand, Olivia! I mean look at you! You're not even…" Peter couldn't find the words. "This could kill you this time, Olivia. We have to do something…"

"Well Peter, I don't see any clinics around here to give us an answer. In fact, I don't see anything around here that's going to help at all."

"You can't go through with this!"

"I know." Olivia sighed. "What if we did it ourselves…?"

"What? Absolutely not! If having this baby doesn't kill you then trying to take it out ourselves will!"

"Then what do you want me to do, Peter? I can't do anything about this! I didn't even mean to…" At that point, she broke down and started crying. Robbie couldn't take anymore and crab-walked his way down the stairs to see his mother and father in the kitchen…not looking like the happy people they should be today.

But then he saw his father wrap his arms around mother. "I want you to live, Olivia. I want you to survive this so you, me, and Robbie can all go home together."

Robbie was confused by this. Weren't they already home?

Olivia wiped the tears from her eyes. "You still believe your father's going to find us?"

"One of us has to."

They looked up and saw their son watching them by the edge of the stairway.

"Oh Robbie." Olivia went straight to him and picked him up. "Mama," he asked as he was being carried up the stairs. "What's gonna kill you?"

She quickly came up with "it's nothing Robbie. Don't worry about me. I wont be going anywhere."

"That's good," said the little boy.

They crawled into bed together and Robbie gave his mother a kiss on the cheek. "Mama? I'm sorry you had a bad Chrismuss."

"Robbie…I should say sorry to you. Your father and I didn't mean to frighten you. We were just scared."

"What's to be scared on Chrismuss?"

Olivia smiled. "You're right. You should be happy."

"I am," Robbie yawned. "Night, mama."

"Goodnight, Robbie."

They went to sleep unaware that Peter had been listening in the whole time. It was good that Olivia could stir Robbie away from the bleak reality of their situation.

He wished he were more like his son right now, living without fear.

* * *

"Mama! Daddy! Make her stop!"

It was the third time that day that Peter had to pry Anna from Robbie who could not stop screaming and attacking him. This time around, she tried to bite him but fortunately her baby teeth could do little damage.

And once Anna was freed she would just roll around on the floor still screaming and flapping her arms in the air.

"Peter…" Olivia was watching everything from the couch. "Just let her be."

After a while both kids miraculously feel asleep on the floor with the flames of the fireplace warming them.

"Do you think I…"

"No, Liv. You didn't do a thing wrong. I mean, look at where we are. There's probably a hundred different toxins in the air or the water that could've done this.

"Then why wasn't Robbie affected?"

"I don't know." Peter ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "Liv, she's going to be fine. All she really needs is something to keep her from screaming and biting us all the time. She's still healthy."

"Better than me," said Olivia.

"I didn't mean it like that."

"I know. But I'm just worried about when I…"

"Liv…" He hurried to hold her hand. "Please don't start with that. You've made it this far. I know you can hang on. Please."

Almost as a grim reminder, Olivia began to cough horribly. "…sorry."

"I'm taking you upstairs."

"No. Please," she said. "I want to stay down here…just a little longer."

There was no way he could say no to that…or the moment. Instead he found his way onto the couch and laid Olivia onto his lap.

And they spent the entire night watching their messed up half starved little tykes continue their slumber.

* * *

The first sound Peter heard was murmuring and then he woke up to the most horrid face staring at him with that awful awful grin.

"Peter! Rise and shine, son!"

Peter quickly pulled up the blanket. "Not now, Walter!"

"It's Christmas present time!"

Walter relentlessly pulled his son out of bed and dragged him downstairs. Olivia was already downstairs giving breakfast to the children, but what caught Peter's attention was the massive pile of gifts by the tree.

"You've got to be kidding me," he groaned. "Walter, did you get all of these presents for us?"

"Of course not," said Walter. "These are all for my grandson. I had to make up for his first four Christmases that I missed."

The horrid realization went through Peter's mind. As long as they were all sharing the same roof with Walter, Robbie would become the most spoiled boy in the world.

"And I haven't forgotten my dear granddaughter." Walter opened the closet and pulled out a giant therapy ball. "This assisted me with my sore lumbar. I'm sure it will help her too."

The ball rolled all over the room.

"Anna isn't crippled," said Peter. "She's…well I don't even know."

"Oh but this can help her body and her brain work in sync. I believe the more we work on the child's motor skills, the better we can assist her. I believe in a matter of time I can get her to speak. It will be only a few nonsensical words but I can interpret and translate them for you and you'll be able to communicate with her."

"Whatever you say, dad. You are the expert on the nonsensical."

The day was filled with plenty of pancakes, Christmas ham, and toys scattered all over the house. Robbie had never had so many presents in his life for one day and it was a bit overwhelming.

By halfway through the day, Robbie was tuckered out and it was time for his nap anyway.

"Robert," said Walter. "Shall I take you upstairs for your nap? I believe I could use one too."

Robbie went up and took his hand. "Okay, Grandpa."

Peter and Olivia were in shock as the two Bishops went up the stairs. Olivia was tending to Anna who was lying on her therapy ball.

"I guess this means we'll have to start getting him Christmas presents every year," said Peter as he was picking up all the discarded wrapping papers. "I knew there would be an upside to staying back in the other world."

Olivia seemed to frown on Peter's sarcastic comment. "Do you think he'll remember…being over there?"

"Why do you say that?"

"Because," said Olivia. "I just don't want him to. I still can't help blaming myself for bringing him and Anna into that world. If it did **this** to her…I cant help but think what it might do to Robbie to have those memories with him for the rest of his life."

A lone tear cascaded down Olivia's cheek. Peter didn't say a word. He went to sit by her side and merely wiped the tear area. He looked over at Anna who was now drooling on the therapy ball in a half sleep.

"Maybe…we didn't bring them into that world," said Peter. "Maybe they came to us when we needed them."

Peter and Olivia didn't want to think about the terrible things they endured during their six years on the other side. But there was one thing that made all the difference and that was the two children. It was only when they came into their lives were Peter and Olivia able to find comfort and peace in the darkness and even when Olivia was near death's door, the children gave them a reason to hold on…and in the end it was all worth it.

"I think they saved us."

Walter then came downstairs. He was crying happy tears.

"Did you hear that?" said Walter. "He called me 'Grandpa'. My son's little boy called me 'Grandpa'."

Peter watched his father happily run into the kicthen. He was going to call up Astrid and tell her that he just got called Grandpa for the first time, something Peter knew that Walter had been waiting to happen since meeting Robbie.

Olivia turned to Peter. "You know, I think this is definitly the best Christmas I ever had."

"You mean _**we'll**_ ever had." He kissed her.

"Merry Christmas, Peter."

"Merry Christmas, Sweetheart."


End file.
